どうやら最近は不動産ヘッジファンドなるものが登場しているようです。
ヘッジファンドと言えば、マクロ的な視点からのグローバルマクロや、M&Aなどのイベントドリブン、それから株式を対象としたロングショートなどがありますが、不動産ヘッジファンドの場合、不動産デリバティブを利用したロングショートが主なストラテジーのようです。株式を対象にしたヘッジファンドがどのように形成され、どのように発展して行ったかを考える事で、不動産ヘッジファンドの今後の動向がある程度読めるかもしれません。ただ、不動産の場合、株式と比べて流動性が全く違うので、そう簡単ではないと思いますが。
以下、ファイナンシャルタイムズの記事より。
Property derivatives point way in wake of credit squeeze
By David Oakley
Published: October 26 2007 03:00 | Last updated: October 26 2007 03:00
As banks and hedge funds increasingly seek new ways to shore up balance sheets in the wake of the credit squeeze, property derivatives have emerged as a lucrative way of bolstering returns.
In the UK, which has the most developed market in the world, commercial property derivatives are expected to see volumes rise to £8.5bn – a 20 per cent jump since June – when new figures are published next week.
Michael Levi, head of property derivatives at CBRE-GFI, a joint venture between broker GFI and property group CB Richard Ellis, which is now a leading broker in property derivatives, said: “People are using property derivatives very effectively now. Despite the credit crisis, we have seen a lot more participants in the past few months.
“The banks are increasingly active. Hedge funds are starting to get involved too. Users see it as a good way to get exposure in a market that has a very cumbersome underlying product.”
Property derivatives enable banks and funds to bet on the price movements of commercial property without having to buy the actual bricks and mortar.
The contracts tend to be swaps, with one party betting that property returns will outperform a set benchmark, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), while the other bets that it will not.
The products may attract even more interest in light of the Bank of England’s warning this week that the commercial property sector was “particularly prone to further shocks”.
The reason the UK has been successful in developing the market is down to the quality of the data used for trading from the Investment Property Databank.
In the US, which has seen worthwhile volumes only since March, the market is growing fast, with an estimated $500m in trades compared with a meagre $50m at the start of the year. France and Germany have also seen the first trades in these derivatives this year.
（後略）
もとの記事はこちらから。
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/72c3d48a-835e-11dc-b042-0000779fd2ac.html
UK、USを中心に、市場が急拡大しているようです。今まで不動産市場が上げ相場だったため、需給があまりマッチしていなかったようですが、今後は下がっていくと見る投資家たちが増えてきているため、不動産デリバティブ（上の説明にあるように不動産インデックスとLIBORのスワップ）のボリュームが拡大しているようです。
上の記事にもあるように市場拡大を握る鍵は、デリバティブの原資産となる不動産インデックスのクオリティのようです。日本では、インデックスという面ではやはりまだ厳しい状況なのかもしれません。
そういえば、ISDAで不動産デリバティブ用のひな型も用意されたみたいなので、これも市場拡大の要因になるかと思われます。いろいろと条件がそろって来ている気がします。
もとネタは同じ気がしますが、ファイナンシャルタイムズにもう一つ関連する記事があったので引用しておきます。
FT REPORT – WEEKEND MONEY – FRONT PAGE: Commercial property
By Elaine Moore and Steve Lodge, Financial Times
Published: Oct 27, 2007
Private investors are being advised not to invest in commercial property funds following reports that the sector is likely to fall during the next two years. But for those who take a bearish view of the market, there are also opportunities to make money from a downturn.
This week, the Bank of England warned that commercial property was “particularly prone to further shocks”. It followed a prediction from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that commercial property prices would fall 5 per cent this year and next, limiting returns including income to just 3 per cent this year, and zero next year. Commercial property funds are already being affected and have just recorded their first fall in total returns in 15 years.
However, property hedge funds are thriving on the volatility. Property derivatives allow these funds to take short positions and so profit from falling prices.
（後略）
