Nuveen announces Article 9 fund for listed real estate

Nuveen has launched an Article 9 fund for listed property securities.

The investment manager’s Article 9 Global Real Estate Carbon Reduction strategy is focused on lessening global carbon emissions through investment in listed real estate.

An Article 9 fund under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, known as “dark green”, is a vehicle “with sustainable investment as its objective or a reduction in carbon emissions as its objective”.

The fund will invest in real estate companies which have either achieved carbon neutrality, or are reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a manner aligned with the Paris Agreement.

Ben Kerl, portfolio manager and head of listed real estate investments, said: “Buildings are thought to be responsible for approximately 40% of global carbon emissions, a figure we believe could be hugely reduced by implementing creative plans to reduce emissions.

“We believe companies committed to these plans have the potential to deliver superior long-term returns as a result of reduced future financial liabilities, better pricing power for assets by appealing to a larger pool of tenants, and superior access to debt and equity capital.”

Nuveen manages a number of Article 9 strategies, covering a variety of asset classes, but not private real estate, where it is committed to achieving net zero carbon across its portfolio by 2040.