AXA Investment Managers has today announced the launch of AXA WF Global Flexible Property Fund.

The fund manager says the fund will provide investors with exposure to the long-term return opportunities of direct property. It will invest in listed equity and debt instruments from a global universe of publicly traded real estate companies.

Targeting an allocation of 60% equity to 40% debt, the fund is designed to mimic the liability side of a real estate company's balance sheet and enables the fund manager to seek a return profile similar to that of a direct real estate investment, says AXA IM. The manager has the flexibility to change the asset allocation mix of the fund and reduce or increase equity exposure according to the property cycle, with the aim of reducing overall volatility.

The launch of the fund follows a number of initiatives which have been implemented by AXA IM's management team that combine its real estate expertise with its ability to create new investment instruments. AXA IM says its ambition is to become Europe's leading asset manager for listed real estate.

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The team managing the fund comprises professionals from both AXA IM and its subsidiary AXA Real Estate, a large European real estate portfolio and asset manager.

Frédéric Tempel, global head of listed real estate at AXA IM and lead manager on the fund, said: "Property holds a lot of appeal as an asset class with strong historical performance and resilient income, however, investors have previously had to choose between illiquid physical real estate, and liquid yet often volatile real estate equities.

"AXA WF Global Flexible Property fund represents another option for investors aiming to provide exposure to the return profile of physical real estate assets but with better liquidity and reduced volatility compared to equity markets. Mixing real estate equity and debt instruments in one liquid strategy is a relatively recent investment opportunity. The disintermediation of banks following the global financial crisis has created a much deeper market for real estate debt."

The fund will be diversified across its asset allocation of equity and debt, geographic regions (Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific) and real estate sub-sectors. The fund is a Luxembourg-domiciled SICAV and has both retail and institutional share classes. It is registered in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy (institutional), Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.