Canada Life Real Estate Fund

Established in 2005, the Canada Life Real Estate Fund invests in units of the Great-West Life Real Estate Fund. 

 

Fund Performance

as of June 30, 2024

$6.1B

in real estate assets

$6.5B

in total assets

113

properties

Source of return

2015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Income 4.5%4.5%4.5%4.3%4.2%3.8%3.7%3.3%3.5%1.9%
Capital 0.1%0.9%1.8%2.7%4.9%(1.3)%7.8%3.9%(6.5)%(2.0)%
Total 4.7%5.4%6.3%7.1%9.1%2.5%11.6%7.2%(3.0)%(0.1)%

Compound rates of return

(gross of investment management fees)
Three Month (0.3)%
Year-to-date (0.1)%
One Year (2.4)%
Three Year 3.4%
Five Year 4.5%
Ten Year 5.5%

Diversification by property type

By property type (millions)

Retail 9.4% $ 569
Office 25.7% $ 1,542
Industrial 29.2% $ 1,761
Residential 27.9% $ 1,685
Other 7.8% $ 474

Diversification by region

By region (millions)

British Columbia 10.7% $ 647
Alberta 11.0% $ 662
Prairies 1.1% $ 67
Ontario 66.5% $ 4,007
Quebec 9.6% $ 579
Atlantic 0.7% $ 42
U.S. 0.4% $ 25

Quarterly Highlights

Q2 2024 Canada Life Real Estate Fund Bulletin

Through the first two quarters of 2024, the Canadian Real Estate Fund No.1 has observed the income and capital components of performance generally offset one another, producing a relatively flat overall return profile. Conditions for future capital performance however are trending positively as the Bank of Canada made its first cut to the overnight rate in June with market expectations that further easing will follow. The central bank will continue to monitor economic conditions, and should the path of inflation migrate toward target, a neutral rate of +/- 2.5% may be achieved in 2025. Bond yields for the most common financing terms (5/10 years) have begun to respond accordingly, bringing down the cost of debt. The cost of capital is a material input in the value proposition for real estate investment and as the rate environment improves, we would expect market activity to accelerate. Further, as the spread premium widens for real estate (discount rates over risk-free rates) the return of idle capital should drive competitive bidding processes and pricing expectations. The Fund’s robust valuation policy which includes one third of the portfolio being valued by an external appraiser each month, is important in ensuring that Net Asset Values are reflective of current market conditions.

Abbotside Way, Caledon, ON
300 McRae Road, Ottawa, ON
Vancouver Centre II, Vancouver, BC
185 Enfield Place, Mississauga, ON
33 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON
50 Prince Arthur, Toronto, ON