Barings’ $13.1+ billion* U.S. real estate equity platform expands with focus on Life Sciences and STEM workforces
The ongoing growth of life science and STEM-based industries is presenting opportunities for real estate investment, according to Barings, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers. Their strategy to invest in life science and STEM office space, home to highly educated and innovative workforces, gained the backing of public and corporate pension plans, insurance companies, and endowments across the U.S. and Europe.
The investment firm announced this past week the close of its inaugural Barings Innovation and Growth Real Estate Fund (“BIG”) of $680 million, surpassing its target of $500 million. Joe Gorin, Barings’ Head of U.S. Real Estate Equity Acquisitions and Portfolio Management, explains the unique appeal of investing in this specialized real estate segment, while others are pursuing segments such as Cannabis.
“At Barings, we believe there is strong relative value for the highest quality office assets that attract high-caliber life science and technology tenants, who continue to drive advancements in healthcare and global economic growth. The leasing performance of this specialized subset of office has substantially outperformed the overall office market since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Gorin.
John Kolb will co-manage the fund with Joe Gorin with the support of a broad team that includes Maureen Joyce, Head of U.S. Real Estate Equity Asset Management. The team will leverage Barings 25 years of U.S. real estate equity investing experience. Currently, the firm has $36.2 billion* in U.S. real estate AUM across equity and debt. Their staff includes approximately 140 dedicated real estate investment professionals located in six U.S. offices managing more than 550 assets.
John Ockerbloom, Head of U.S. Real Estate, feels the strong response of investors to participate in the Fund is tied to their strategy of presenting a “differentiated offering to a broad and diverse group of institutional investors across regions”.
“We believe our team is well-positioned to find significant opportunities for our investors by balancing current dislocation in the real estate market with the continued growth we see in life sciences and STEM-based industries,” said Ockerbloom.
Gorin echoes Ockerbloom, while also noting the important role that the innovative workforce has in their strategy, as well as their discerning approach to this specific asset class.
“We are fortunate to have additional capital that we can invest into what we believe will be attractively priced assets in strategic markets with high degrees of educational attainment and STEM employment.”
*Assets under management as of December 31, 2022
Read about Investment Opportunities in Single Family Rental Home Market
