Bricks & mortar and property securities in a single fund

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1 HSBC Open Global Property Fund Bricks & mortar and property securities in a single fund FE ALPHA MANAGER 2016 DR. GUY MORRELL (HSBC) FE ALPHA MANAGER OF THE YEAR For professional clients only

2 HSBC Open Global Property Fund A liquid property portfolio with lower volatility Direct property funds are unlisted vehicles that invest in physical commercial property, such as offices, retail and industrial buildings, including distribution warehouses. Listed property equities, which include shares issued by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and development companies, are publicly-quoted securities that invest in commercial property. Most property funds provide access to either direct property (also called brick and mortar property and unlisted ) or property equities. The HSBC Open Global Property Fund is different. It gives access to both types of property investment at once. The reason we do it is simple. Combining direct property funds and listed property equities offers potentially lower volatility of returns than would be the case from investing in equity markets alone. It also helps to maintain higher liquidity than is possible when investing only in direct property. Local expertise. Globally. When it comes to investing in global property, we believe that no single manager can claim to be an expert in all countries and sectors everywhere in the world. We therefore believe in facilitating access for our investors to a range of specialists operating in different markets. We do it by investing globally in a range of funds that hold either predominantly direct property or property securities. Our Real Estate Investment team selects property funds or listed property equities, taking account of the specialist skills and market knowledge of managers wherever they are based. Lower volatility: direct property Over the long term, property has historically produced a mixture of income and capital appreciation. The yield generated by rental income tends to be a stable element of the total return. WHY CONSIDER THIS FUND? ``Globally-diversified across both direct and indirect property markets (through investment in specialist funds) ``A one-stop solution for your clients entire property exposure, or as a core property holding, which combines top-down allocation and fund selection ``Access to local property market knowledge from some of the world s best local property managers ``Driven by our Real Estate Investment team s tactical asset allocation expertise, thematic property ideas and fund selection capabilities In addition, investors have long favoured direct commercial property as an effective diversifier not only is it weakly correlated to other asset classes but is also, typically, less volatile. However, these benefits come at a price. Commercial properties are large and expensive. According to Real Capital Analytics, the average lot size of office transactions globally in 2015 exceeded 30m. Some commercial properties, such as regional shopping centres, can trade at over 1bn. This means it is impossible for all but the largest institutional investors to assemble a portfolio of directly-owned investment properties and achieve adequate diversification. The acquisition, on-going management and disposal of buildings also require locally-based specialists. Therefore, due to the significant expenses involved and local expertise required to build a portfolio of direct property investments, it is extremely difficult to achieve critical mass and diversification globally. Holding commercial property directly involves investment in inherently illiquid assets. It takes time to transact a property purchase or sale, especially at times of challenging markets. During buoyant conditions, when many investors are competing to buy buildings, it can take many months to deploy capital. In depressed markets, it can be difficult to sell when investor demand is weak. Investing through property funds can help to overcome the problem of large lot sizes, as investors pool their capital to create more diversified portfolios. The liquidity of pooled funds varies enormously. At one extreme, private equity real estate funds usually designed for large, institutional investors offer less liquidity than underlying buildings since investors tie up capital typically for a minimum of 5-7 years in fixed life, closed ended vehicles that have no liquidity during their life. At the other end of the liquidity spectrum, some funds are designed for small, private investors and have daily dealing. Between these two extremes are pooled funds designed for institutional investors that are either open-ended (allowing investors to purchase or redeem units in funds), with typically dealing on a quarterly basis, or are closedended. In extreme market conditions, managers may have difficulty meeting redemption requests and it is normal for managers of funds designed for institutional investors to have the ability to defer redemptions. Our approach to the problem of assembling a diversified portfolio is to invest in direct property through unlisted funds rather than by buying physical buildings. This approach also helps to access local markets quickly and easily, as well as to diversify property-specific risk. We can invest through local specialist managers with the requisite expertise, wherever they happen to be based. We can change portfolio structure quickly and easily. The Fund also maintains its liquidity by investing in the more liquid direct property funds and by bringing property securities to the mix. ``Daily dealing

3 FE ALPHA MANAGER 2016 DR. GUY MORRELL (HSBC) FE ALPHA MANAGER OF THE YEAR Liquidity: property equities Property equities such as REITs and property development companies are liquid financial instruments traded on stock exchanges. We hold both direct property funds and property securities to maintain a high level of liquidity allowing for the portfolio structure to be changed quickly. The listed sector provides access to markets where there are few (if any) suitable direct property funds. It is also a cost-effective way of investing in property, relative to the costs of buying buildings directly, including stamp duty land tax and other costs associated with property transactions. Another reason for investing in the listed sector is that short-term performance movements of property securities are influenced largely by the direction of the wider equity market. This provides buying or selling opportunities since pricing in the listed market can move significantly away from underlying property values. Over longer investment periods, however, listed property shows a stronger correlation with physical property markets and weaker correlation to general equity markets. Being able to access both types of property, and by actively allocating between both, provides an opportunity to take advantage of mispricing between the public and private markets. Finally, investing through listed property securities provides access to locally-based specialist management teams. Listed property equities are more volatile than physical property funds. However, by blending the two types of property we can provide a solution that can produce an attractive level of return relative to risk. Fund Manager Guy Morrell Head of Real Estate Investment, HSBC Global Asset Management Guy has over 30 years experience in property investment. Before joining HSBC in 2004, he was Chief Investment Officer of Global Property at Henderson Global Investors. Previously, he worked in the Property Research Team at Prudential Portfolio Managers and was an investment surveyor at Healey & Baker. Guy holds a PhD in property portfolio construction and risk from the University of Reading, a first class honours BSc degree in Land Management from Leicester Polytechnic (now De Montfort University) and is a chartered surveyor. He is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Department of Geography and the Environment at the London School of Economics. DR. GUY MORRELL 6 Continued Industry Recognition Manager of the HSBC Open Global Property Fund, Dr Guy Morrell, has retained his Alpha Manager rating from FE Trustnet for the sixth year running. FE Trustnet Alpha Manager ratings are awarded each year to the top ten percent of UK retail fund managers running unit trusts & OEICs, who maintain a consistently high alpha score over a proven track record regardless of market direction. Dr Morrell, who has managed the fund since its launch in November 2007, is the only Alpha Manager in the IMA Property sector, which numbers 43 funds from different providers 1. In addition, the fund was awarded the top Five Crowns rating by FE Trustnet, that is given to the top 10% best performing funds 2. Rebalanced twice a year in January and August, the rating takes into account three key measurements to derive a fund s performance: alpha, volatility and consistently strong performance. Past performance is not a reliable indication of future returns. 1 FE Trustnet as at 01 February last accessed on Source: FE Trustnet as at January 2016

4 HSBC Open Global Property Fund A global perspective This global fund can change its allocation geographically as well as between the direct and indirect property. The latter is particularly helpful because these markets can exhibit low correlation over the short term. A property fund that offers such comprehensive diversification benefits can be a valuable tool for many investment portfolios. By investing globally, we diversify the risk of investing in individual countries as property markets are driven largely by local dynamics. Rents are determined by local demand and local supply factors, which vary from country to country. Leasing terms also often vary across countries. These differences lead to the segmentation of property markets and lower cross-market correlation relative to mainstream equity and government bond markets. Low correlation is helpful in reducing risk as the fund is not dependent entirely on the performance of one single market. For example, we held no UK direct property investments when we launched the fund in 2007 because we considered the market to be unattractively-priced. This enabled us to avoid the sharp downturn in the UK commercial property market, which suffered falls in capital values of over 44% between June 2007 and July 2009 according to the IPD UK Monthly Index. The direct property funds we held at this time were invested outside the UK, and they performed relatively well when the UK market suffered its downturn in In June 2009, when All Property yields had reached 7.9% (up from 4.6% two years earlier), we entered the UK market quickly to take advantage of more attractive pricing 3. UK investors in other asset classes have diversified their equity and fixed income portfolios across other countries globally for many years. Assuming the appropriate structure, which we believe we provide through our indirect approach, we see no reason why the same principles cannot be applied to property. A distinctive investment approach Our approach to evaluating property funds and securities, which has developed over more than ten years, blends rigour with pragmatism. We assess the fund management team, the investment philosophy and process, the strengths and weaknesses of the current portfolio and future performance prospects. In addition, we evaluate a fund s risk profile as well as its liquidity, which is particularly important with direct property funds. We start our investment process with an appraisal of the underlying property markets. Property forms part of the wider capital markets but often experiences prolonged periods of mispricing. In addition, while all managers claim to add value at the individual property level through active asset management (and the better ones successfully do so), the biggest driver of property returns in the long run is the underlying market in which the assets are invested. Consequently, we believe that a comprehensive fundamental assessment of property funds is difficult to achieve without understanding the underlying direct and listed property markets. HSBC Open Global Property Fund, performance since launch Dec-07 Dec-08 Dec-09 Dec-10 Dec-11 Dec-12 Dec-13 Dec-14 Dec-15 HSBC Open Global Property Investment Association OE Property Source: Morningstar, total returns, single price in GBP of Retail Acc share class (C share class since Oct 2012) Data as at from fund launch on 26 November 2007 to 31 March 2016 Past performance is not a reliable indication of future returns. 3 Source; IPD UK Monthly Index, May 2009.

5 When assessing a potential investment, we review the structural composition by looking at various metrics, including sector, geography, yield, occupancy and lease expiry profile. We review the largest holdings and question the manager on the most significant property asset management initiatives that are planned or are under way. Top-down Strategic and tactical asset allocation Property market reviews Of critical importance is our assessment that the management team not just the lead portfolio manager but the supporting asset managers have the capability to deliver the objectives and execute the strategy. A lot of contact with the management team takes place before we invest. Initially, this involves desktop reviews and an evaluation of questionnaires. Once we have decided to carry out detailed due diligence, we meet the manager for a thorough review before we invest. Thereafter we undertake desktop reviews of performance quarterly and have update meetings with the manager at least annually. Open, honest and transparent communication with the manager is essential. This approach contributes to our robust, end-to-end investment process. By diversifying across geographies and picking skilled managers within these markets we have the potential to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns in a highly liquid form. Client reporting Portfolio construction and management Manager/ fund selection Bottom-up Performance monitoring and review Why we blend listed and unlisted property funds Dr Guy Morrell, manager of the HSBC Open Global Property Fund The HSBC Open Global Property Fund is unusual in that it combines listed property and unlisted property in one fund. In doing so, we actively change the allocations between the two types of property fund depending on our views of prospective returns and risks. This article outlines why we believe there is merit in this hybrid approach. Key advantages of blending A key benefit from blending listed and unlisted property is the high level of liquidity associated with publicly quoted real estate equities. This is important because the Open Global Property Fund is daily dealt and priced. Problems can occur for direct property fund managers during severe market downturns. During the last financial crisis, for example, some direct property funds deferred redemptions to investors because the underlying buildings could not be sold quickly enough to meet redemption requests. During periods of strong investor demand, strong inflows can lead to elevated cash levels. Daily liquidity is not provided because individual investors seek to switch into and out of the Fund on a daily basis since it is designed with a long-term time horizon in mind (5 years or more). However, investors whether financial intermediaries acting on behalf of individuals or end investors accessing the Fund directly have their own time frames in mind when making investment decisions that usually differ from those of other investors, whether for Individual Savings Schemes (ISAs), pension savings, or periodic portfolio re-balancing. Daily dealing is essential to take account of the different dealing requirements of numerous underlying investors. We also believe that this hybrid approach offers a potential return advantage to investors. In the short term, listed property equities are influenced significantly by movements in wider equity markets. This can mean that prices of property equities move significantly above (or below) the value of the underlying buildings, even after allowing for differences in portfolio quality, gearing held within listed property equities and so on. Potentially, this can provide attractive opportunities to change the balance between the two types of holdings. The following chart is based on London -listed investment trusts that invest in UK physical property. Whilst it does not represent the mainstream UK listed property sector, it gives a good illustration of the variation in pricing between the publicly-listed and unlisted markets.

6 Premium or discount to net asset value, UK investment trusts holding UK direct property Jan-04 Jul-04 Jan-05 Jul-05 Jan-06 Jul-06 Jan-07 Jul-07 Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Premium or Discount Jul-11 Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Jan-15 Jul-15 Jan-16 Source: Morningstar, as at 31 March HSBC Global Asset Management, weighted average. Past performance is not a guide to future returns A further feature of the HSBC Open Global Property Fund is its global scope. We believe there are benefits to performance by looking beyond the UK. Investors typically diversify their equity and fixed income investments by investing outside the UK and we believe similar principles can be applied to an appropriately diversified property fund. The historic benefits from this approach are illustrated by the following chart, which shows the return differential between global listed property and UK direct property funds over rolling 12-month periods. Whilst there have been times when UK unlisted property funds have out-performed global listed property (for example, during much of 2009), there have been far more frequent periods when global listed real estate has performed more strongly than UK unlisted property funds. The past is not a guide to future returns but we believe that, at appropriate times in the cycle, taking a global approach has the potential to generate superior returns. Relative performance of global listed and UK unlisted property funds 4 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% -30% May-04 Nov-04 May-05 Nov-05 May-06 Nov-06 May-07 Nov-07 May-08 Nov-08 May-09 Nov-09 May-10 Nov-10 May-11 Nov-11 May-12 Nov-12 May-13 Nov-13 May-14 Nov-14 May-15 Nov-15 Annual return Global listed above UK direct UK direct above global listed Global listed relative to UK direct Source: Morningstar (average of daily-dealt unlisted property funds), Thomson Reuters Datastream (ishares FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Property Yield ETF, from 31 May 2004 to 31 March 2016, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index less notional 0.59% Ongoing Charges Figure for prior periods), HSBC Global Asset Management. No monthly index of unlisted property performance is available. Past performance is not a guide to future returns 4 To reflect the experience of investors and take account of fees, cash and expenses, a basket of daily-dealt UK direct property funds and an ETF have been used for this analysis rather than gross market indices

7 The question of volatility Probably the main disadvantage of holding listed property is that it introduces additional volatility to performance. This is because listed property is part of wider equity markets, which are more volatile than unlisted property markets, especially over short time periods. Some commentators suggest, however, that the volatility of direct property markets is under-stated, because returns are heavily dependent on valuations, which are valuers estimates of price, rather than actual traded prices. Various measures can be employed to adjust for the smoothing induced by valuations, which leads to higher volatility. Whilst adding property equities introduces higher volatility to returns, it is worth noting that movements in UK unlisted property and global listed property are not perfectly correlated. This means that there are some diversification benefits to performance when they are combined: the volatility of the blended portfolio is not the weighted average of the volatility of the individual components. Putting it all together The analysis above shows that higher returns could have been achieved from combining global listed property with UK direct property. But higher returns have also been associated with higher risk. The chart below shows different levels of return and risk that would have been achieved for different proportions of UK unlisted and global listed property, based on the data described above. Returns and risk from different combinations of UK unlisted and global listed property % UK Unlisted 50% Global Listed Return (%pa) % UK Unlisted 100% Global Listed Risk (standard deviation %pa) Source: HSBC Global Asset Management, based on the historic returns from 30 May 2005 to 31 Mar 2016 and different combinations of UK unlisted and global listed property. Past performance is not a guide to future returns The optimum combination of the two types of property depends on an investor s degree of risk aversion. Extremely conservative investors would tend to prefer lower risk/return combinations and have a higher proportion of UK unlisted property (around 5% pa at the lowest risk combination). However, those investors prepared to accept more risk could be expected have achieved much higher returns (towards 11% pa with the highest risk combination) from holding an increasing proportion of global listed property. So far as the HSBC Open Global Property Fund is concerned, the weightings change to reflect our views of prospective returns, risk and liquidity. It is also worth remembering that property should be considered as part of a multi asset portfolio.

8 HSBC Open Global Property Fund What are some of the risks when investing? ``TIME HORIZON: This is a medium to long-term investment and your clients should plan to keep it for at least five years ``RISK TO CAPITAL: The capital value and the income generated by the fund may go down as well as up and is not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested ``CURRENCIES: The currency movements between sterling and other countries could influence the returns of the portfolio. Where overseas investments are held the rate of currency exchange may cause the value of such investments to go down as well as up ``PROPERTY: The long term nature of investment in property and the income generated tend to make this type of investment less volatile than equities although it can be difficult to buy and/ or sell quickly. Where the underlying funds invest directly in property, the property in the fund may not be readily realisable, and the Manager of the fund may apply a deferral on redemption requests. The value of property is generally a matter of the valuer s opinion rather than fact ``Some of the underlying property funds will not price daily ``Listed property securities are part of the equity market and are more volatile than direct (unlisted) property, which can mean that the price of Shares and the income from them can fluctuate, sometimes dramatically ``There are certain additional costs and risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate. These include: risk of oversupply in local markets, risk of extended vacancies within properties, property taxes and operating expenses, risk of changes in planning laws, risks relating to legal title, costs relating to environmental problems and liability risk to third parties for damages resulting from environmental problems, and uninsured damages from floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters ``Property values are affected by a number of factors, including general and local economic conditions, attractiveness and location of properties, increases in local competition, financial condition of tenants, quality of maintenance, limitations on and variations in rents, level of investor demand and changes in interest rates ``Commercial and residential property have different risk profiles and returns in one market do not necessarily follow the other. The risks involved in property investment are different from other types of investments such as equities and bonds, in that this type of investment tends to lag the economic cycle rather than lead it Important information For Professional Clients only and should not be distributed to or relied upon by Retail Clients. The material contained herein is for information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to any reader of this material to buy or sell investments. This document is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe to any investment. Any views expressed were held at the time of preparation and are subject to change without notice. While any forecast, projection or target where provided is indicative only and not guaranteed in any way. HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited accepts no liability for any failure to meet such forecast, projection or target. Fund specifics These funds are sub-funds of HSBC OpenFunds an Open Ended Investment Company that is authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Authorised Corporate Director and Investment Manager is HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited. All applications are made on the basis of the HSBC OpenFunds/prospectus, Key Investor Information Document (KIID), Supplementary Information Document (SID) and most recent annual and semi annual report, which can be obtained upon request free of charge from HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited, 8, Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HQ, UK, or the local distributors. Investors and potential investors should read and note the risk warnings in the prospectus and relevant KIID and additionally, in the case of retail clients, the information contained in the supporting SID. Issued in the UK by HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Copyright HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited All rights reserved CP/AS/0416/FP Expiry date 31/12/2016.