Wealth & Finance International - January 2017

25 January 2017 Returns Service undBox SGFII is a Portuguese regulated fund manager wholly dedicated to the management of real estate funds. The firm was set up in 1992, acquired by the current shareholder base in 2002, and operates with a staff of 18 professionals in two offices, Lisbon and Porto. Today, it is the proud recipient of the Real Estate Fund Manager of the Year 2016 Award for Portugal. FundBox SGFII’s parent company, FundBox Holdings, specialises in originating, structuring and investing in alternative assets. FundBox SGFII handles the investments which are structured as real estate funds. Current assets under management are € 220 million and the number of funds managed is currently 16, one of which Alternext-listed. I am the Managing Director in charge of FundBox’s Porto office. In that capacity, I am fund director of seven real estate funds, of which some are development funds and other income funds. Most of my time is spent with two development funds, Nexponor SICAFI which is Alternext listed and owns Exponor, one of the largest exhibition sites in Portugal, and Coimbra Viva I, an urban regeneration fund whose main investors are the Coimbra Municipality and IRHU, the Portuguese Government Agency for Urban Regeneration. There are around thirty regulated fund managers active in Portugal, and FundBox ranks in the middle of the table considering AuM. In Porto, there are three firms with a local presence, and we try to be above the middle of the table. In terms of the staff of FundBox SGFII, they play a decisive role. FundBox is a small company operating in a small market and in such an outfit everybody’s contribution is paramount. We are happy to have a focused and dedicated team of talented individuals at FundBox. In terms of the industry we are a part of, the universe of investors which consider getting exposure to Portuguese property through regulated vehicles changed a lot. Before the Great Depression, investors tapping the Portuguese market were mainly core and core plus investors. These days, most of the likely investors are opportunistic vehicles - less interested in investing through regulated vehicles. This is certainly a challenge for the industry and for FundBox, as is the relative unwilling- ness of Portuguese banks to fund real estate investments. Concluding thoughts On being awarded the Real Estate Fund Manager of the Year 2016 for Portugal, I am delighted. We at FundBox work hard every day to deliver returns to our investors and to execute the best we know and can the investment strategies decided for the funds we manage. We take great pride in good execution and find it wonderful that the Wealth & Finance International team chose us among our competitors. In terms of future challenges, fund raising is the big challenge these days, both in terms of equity and debt. If the challenge is met, there are quite a few distressed assets around that are interesting opportunities. Finally, we wish the Wealth & Finance International team a prosperous 2017. Company: FundBox SGFII Name: Manuel Monteiro de Andrade Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.fundbox.pt Address: Largo Tomé Pires, 27, 4150-731 Porto, Portugal Telephone: + 351 22 615 61 20 FundBox SGFII is a Portuguese regulated fund manager wholly dedicated to the management of real estate funds. The firm was set up in 1992, acquired by the current shareholder base in 2002, and operates with a staff of 18 professionals in two offices, Lisbon and Porto. Today, it is the proud recipient of the Real Estate Fund Manager of the Year 2016 Award for Portugal. F 1701WF19