DWS to liquidate $203 million US property fund after redemption pressure

Deutsche Bank asset manager DWS plans to sell all the assets of RREEF Property Trust and liquidate the $203 million US real estate investment trust, citing heightened redemptions and difficulty attracting new capital.

The plan is subject to approval by the fund’s stockholders, which the company intends to seek at a special meeting. RREEF said it plans to return the net proceeds from asset sales to investors when appropriate.

RREEF’s net asset value was $203 million at the end of June. The fund invests in apartments, retail properties and warehouses through a structure that allows individual investors to buy and redeem shares based on the value of its holdings.

The wind-down highlights continued pressure on US commercial real estate funds. Fundraising for RREEF lagged even before interest-rate increases in 2022 made the sector less attractive, and the trust recorded net outflows in all but one of the past 15 quarters, according to data compiled by Robert A. Stanger Co.

Michael Covello, an executive managing director at Stanger, said the fund never gained traction and that liquidation was the right move for investors.