Alpine Real Estate Funds, formerly Evergreen Asset Management, launched its third real estate fund, adding to the top-rated Alpine U.S. Real Estate Equity and International Real Estate Equity Funds. Offering Y, A, and B shares, it will be advised by Alpine and the transfer agent will be BISYS Funds Services.

The new fund will complement the company's other two funds nicely, according to Marc Halle, Alpine's COO. He feels that the time is right in the real estate cycle, with housing and office occupancy high and the highest spread in 25 years between REIT yields and treasury yields. Mr. Halle will be the co-manager of the fund with Sam Lieber, Alpine's CEO, as they have done with the company's other two funds.

"The consensus growth rates for the sector are about 10%, and with not a lot of fundamental risk," Mr. Halle said, so the fund should be attractive to those looking for a solid, more conservative investment. The investment strategy will include REITs and other dividend paying equity securities, as well as bonds of companies primarily involved in the real estate industry as the fund will be geared towards those people looking primarily for the income component of the fund.

When asked about the past history of the REIT market, compared to the soaring stock market, Mr. Halle admitted that REITS had lagged a bit, but stated that "the fundamentals are only getting better."

 

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