London overtakes NYC in biggest real estate exposure for this $1T sovereign wealth fund

By the end of 2017, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund had more real estate exposure in London than in New York City.

Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund Norges held 22.8 percent of its real estate portfolio in London, Bloomberg reported. New York City followed at 21.5 percent and then Paris at 19.1 percent at the end of 2017, a report release by the fund on Tuesday.

At the end of 2017, the fund had $28 billion invested in unlisted real estate. In 2016, New York topped the list at 19.2 percent. London came in second at 17 percent, followed by Paris at 13.1 percent.

“Central London office investment transactions rose 30 percent in 2017 despite economic uncertainty,” the fund said. “Transaction volumes ended at around 15 billion pounds, which was a return to the average level seen in the five years prior to the Brexit vote.” [Bloomberg] — Kathryn Brenzel