Zoe Hughes

The departure of TCW’s chief investment officer Jeffrey Gundlach has triggered a key man clause in its PPIP fund, according to the US Treasury.

A survey by the European industry body, INREV, revealed funds of funds managers invested just €75m in the first nine months of 2009 – down from €2.2bn in 2007. Secondaries, though, will be more important in 2010.

There has been little clarity to the US real estate markets in the past year, however things have started to change. At the recent Urban Land Institute conference in San Francisco, PERE assembled a cross-section of industry professionals to gauge their thoughts on the state of the market and the future for private equity real estate. PERE magazine December 2009-January 2010 issue.

Marathon Asset Management recently held a first close reportedly on $400m for PPIP, leaving Oaktree as the last firm to reach the benchmark.

Following a nine-month investigation, the bank reportedly has told investors that possible violations were centred on the “conduct of a single former employee” in Shanghai, according to Reuters. There was no evidence Kalsi “caused or authorised” the alleged misuse of assets, his spokesperson told PERE. Morgan Stanley could not confirm the statement.

Lisette van Doorn is leaving the European real estate association to return to ING as country and fund manager for its Southern Europe retail fund.

Robert Levinson has joined David Hodes and Doug Weill’s new advisory firm as chief financial officer.

Distressed property owners will be allowed to talk to special servicers about restructuring securitised loans before imminent default without triggering tax penalties. The move has criticised for reinforcing the “extend and pretend” attitude of the financial industry.

The Chinese sovereign wealth fund has held talks with BlackRock, Invesco and Lone Star as it looks to the US real estate market and distressed mortgage securities, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds have pledged to pump millions of extra dollars into Songbird Estates, alongside Qatar Holdings, CIC and Simon Glick, in a bid to prevent the property company from failing. Songbird is hoping to raise more than £800m in equity from a new share issue.