Challenger Financial Services Group has formed a strategic alliance with US-based real estate management group Heitman.
Heitman will manage the North American and European components of the portfolio, with the Australian and Asian books being managed by Challenger.
"The Australian listed property trust market is mature by world standards and we continue to see investor demand for property securities funds with exposure to both domestic and international markets," said Challenger chief executive of funds management Rob Adams.
The team is managing an initial investment mandate of over US$75million.
Heitman currently manage $15 billion in assets throughout the US, European and Asian real estate markets.
Australians placed US$5.3 billion into overseas real estate in the first half of 2006, compared to US$1.2 billion in the first half of 2005, according to figures released last month by Jones Lang LaSalle.
