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Franklin Templeton Sees Opportunities in Private Real Estate Investments

BEN | 3 hours ago

Today the firm celebrates the five-year anniversary of Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund Inc.

Franklin Templeton and its specialist investment manager, Clarion Partners, are today celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (CPREX), a closed-end tender offer fund that provides individual investors with access to institutional-quality private real estate. CPREX invests in stable, well-leased, cash flow-producing properties in U.S. markets with favorable growth prospects. Industrial warehouse, rental housing and healthcare-related properties comprise 89% of the portfolio.

The five-year milestone signifies Clarion’s commitment to pursuing strategic investment opportunities in commercial real estate even in today’s uncertain environment. Its positive outlook for this asset class is driven by both near-term factors related to moderating inflation, slightly lower interest rates and the direction of certain capital market indicators, as well as long-term trends related to demographics, innovation and shifting globalization.

“Franklin Templeton and Clarion Partners are grateful for the trust and confidence our many distribution partners, advisors, RIAs and bankers have placed in CPREX,” said Dave Donahoo, Franklin Templeton’s Head of Wealth Management-Alternatives. “By not charging an incentive fee, similar to our institutional core offering, we have more leverage flexibility and can deliver a larger percentage of gross returns to our investors.”

“Thanks to our partners, we’ve continued to experience net inflows during a period of slow real estate fundraising for the sector as a whole. This has afforded us the ability to acquire new properties during a wider cap rate environment, providing diversification benefits and setting CPREX up to continue to deliver against our investment mandate for the next five years,” said Jeff Masom, Franklin Templeton’s Head of U.S. Distribution.

Clarion Partners, CPREX’s sub-adviser, has been a leader in building and managing private real estate portfolios for some of the world’s largest institutional investors for over 40 years; it has more than $74 billion in real estate assets under management as of June 30, 2024.

“Since the fund’s inception in 2019, we’ve taken a disciplined investment approach, grounded in in-depth research and focused on constructing a portfolio for our investors that generates a balance of income and long-term capital appreciation through investment in real estate sectors and geographies that we believe are poised to benefit the most from long-term macro-economic trends,” said CPREX Portfolio Manager Rick Schaupp. “CPREX is designed to make investments in both real estate private equity and private debt. That positions us to be active investors regardless of where we are in a market cycle.”

Growing interest in alternative investments

Clarion is part of Franklin Templeton’s alternatives business, which spans a broad range of strategies, including real estate, private credit, hedge funds and secondary private equity and co-investments, amounting to approximately 16% of the firm’s $1.65 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2024.

There’s evidence of growing interest in alternative investments among individual investors. While in 2016 there were $110.6 billion in U.S. registered funds that invest in private equity, private credit and real estate, that number has nearly tripled, growing to $299.3 billion in 2023, according to Cerulli Associates.

“A confluence of events has helped fuel the adoption of alternative investments, including volatility in public markets and rising demand for returns that are uncorrelated with traditional stocks and bonds,” said Franklin Templeton’s Donahoo. “Technology and product innovation are making alternatives more adoptable and accessible to wealth investors across the globe. Alternatives by Franklin Templeton is uniquely positioned to be a leading solutions provider as this trend accelerates, driven by our deep knowledge of the wealth channel and strong line-up of managers.”

About Clarion Partners

Clarion Partners, an SEC registered investment adviser with FCA-authorized and FINRA member affiliates, has been a leading U.S. real estate investment manager for more than 40 years. Headquartered in New York, the firm maintains strategically located offices across the United States and Europe. With over $74 billion in total real estate and debt assets under management, Clarion Partners offers a broad range of real estate strategies across the risk/return spectrum to 500 institutional investors across the globe. Clarion is scaled in all major property types and was an early entrant into the Industrial sector. The Firm’s global industrial team manages a 1000+ property portfolio in the U.S. and Europe consisting of more than 255 million square feet. For more information visit www.clarionpartners.com.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and over $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of July 31, 2024. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.

BEFORE INVESTING, CAREFULLY CONSIDER A FUND’S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, RISKS, CHARGES AND EXPENSES. YOU CAN FIND THIS AND OTHER INFORMATION IN EACH PROSPECTUS, AND SUMMARY PROSPECTUS, IF AVAILABLE, AT WWW.FRANKLINTEMPLETON.COM OR CONTACT YOUR FRANKLIN TEMPLETON REPRESENTATIVE. PLEASE READ THE PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY BEFORE INVESTING.

Investment Risks

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Diversification does not ensure against loss. An investment should be considered long-term within a multi-asset portfolio and should not be viewed individually as a complete investment program. The Fund is subject to a high degree of risk; additional risk considerations are listed below:

Liquidity Risks:

The Fund should be viewed as a long-term investment, as it is inherently illiquid and suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with the limited liquidity of the Fund. Limited liquidity is provided to shareholders only through the Fund’s quarterly repurchase offers for no more than 5% of the Fund’s shares outstanding at net asset value. There is no guarantee these repurchases will occur as scheduled, or at all. Shareholders may not be able to sell their shares in the Fund at all or at a favorable price.

Real Estate Investment Risks:

The Fund’s investments are highly concentrated in real estate investments, and therefore will be subject to the risks typically associated with real estate, including but not limited to fluctuations in lease occupancy rates and operating expenses, variations in rental schedules, which in turn may be adversely affected by local, state, national or international economic conditions. Such conditions may be impacted by the supply and demand for real estate properties, zoning laws, rent control laws, real property taxes, the availability and costs of financing, and environmental laws.

Furthermore, investments in real estate are also impacted by market disruptions caused by regional concerns, political upheaval, sovereign debt crises, and uninsured losses (generally from catastrophic events such as earthquakes, floods and wars). Investments in real estate related securities, such as asset-backed or mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment and extension risks.

Private Market Investments Risks:

An investment in the Fund is suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with private market investments (such as private credit and private equity) with potential limited liquidity. Shares will not be listed on a public exchange, and no secondary market is expected to develop.

Franklin Distributors, LLC. Member FINRA, SIPC. All entities mentioned are Franklin Templeton affiliates companies Investment Products: NOT FDIC INSURED | NO BANK GUARANTEE | MAY LOSE VALUE.