Real estate special funds

Real estate special funds , after the correct legal name is actually " real estate special fund " hot, are investment funds and belong to the group of open real estate funds . These are divided into real estate mutual funds , which (but mostly retail investors and institutional investors) turn to all investors, and real estate special funds specifically for unnatural investors (z. B. Insurance , pension funds , pension funds , foundations , Banks and other companies).

Special real estate funds are launched and managed by an investment company in its own name for the account of the investors. A capital investment company is subject to the control of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

Initially, the same provisions of the Investment Act (InvG) apply to both mutual real estate funds and special real estate funds . In the case of special real estate funds, however, a large number of statutory provisions may be deviated from with the consent of the investors. The investment company and investors can therefore contractually stipulate that certain legal requirements do not apply to the special real estate fund or only apply in a modified manner.

Investors participate in the real estate investment fund not through the issue of company shares , but through the issue of investment certificates , also known as fund shares. These are usually issued and redeemed on an ongoing basis, which means that the fund is "open" on both sides. However, the capital investment company is not obliged to enter into a contract, which means that it does not have to issue any fund units at any time. In the case of special funds, it may also be agreed with the investors that fund units will not be redeemed by the investment company at any time. In extreme cases, the return can be limited to an appointment every two years.

The relationship between the capital investment company and the investor is not regulated by company law, but by contract law, whereby the contract ensures that all investors are treated equally. The investors are not involved in the capital investment company, but only in the respective real estate investment fund. This is why an investment company can manage any number of special funds. The real estate funds do not have their own legal personality. The real estate in the open real estate funds is the legal property of the capital investment company. However, beneficial ownership rests with the investors. The assets and liabilities of an open-ended real estate fund must be kept strictly separate from the assets and liabilities of the investment company.

The contractual relationship between the investment company and the investor is supplemented by a custodian bank , which is responsible for the safekeeping and monitoring of the assets of the fund. It is also responsible for the issue and redemption of unit certificates . In addition, the custodian bank has certain powers of control over the investment company or the investment fund.

Real estate special funds exist in two variants. On the one hand, there is the so-called individual fund, which is set up for a single major investor. On the other hand, there is the so-called community fund, which is set up for several investors. As a special form of the individual fund, there is also the so-called contribution fund. In this fund, real estate that is owned by the individual investor is brought into the fund by the individual investor in return for the issue of investment certificates.

Institutional investors use the real estate special fund to make indirect real estate investments in Germany and abroad. The special real estate fund is particularly suitable for indirect foreign investments because institutional investors do not have to develop their own expertise in real estate investments abroad, but can instead make use of the services and experience of capital investment companies.

The real estate special fund has experienced rapid development in recent years. In the period from 1999 to June 2009, the net fund volume of all real estate special funds rose from € 4.6 billion to € 24.7 billion. As of June 30, 2009, 24 German real estate investment companies were managing 117 special real estate funds.