2021-05-09 16:08:19
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien was an early investor in ‘cuckoo’ funds.
Imagine my shawk.
>The Minister’s Oireachtas declaration of interests shows that in 2008 he invested savings in a global REIT fund run by Standard Life Assurance.
>The Irish Government did not legislate for REITs here until 2013, but the Standard Life fund allowed investors to invest in REITs and listed property firms elsewhere throughout the world.
>At the time of Mr O’Brien’s involvement, Standard Life’s REIT fund had invested significantly in commercial, industrial and residential REITs in countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia and elsewhere.
>It promised investors healthy returns from economies where property supply was limited and demand was high – precisely the circumstances that have now made Ireland an attractive prospect for such funds.
O’Brien previously worked in financial services in the pensions sector but declined to answer whether he recommended the REIT fund to any clients.
extra.ie
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