Aviva Irish Commercial Property

The Aviva Irish Commercial Property invests in a range of Irish properties across the retail, office, industrial and alternative sectors. Its holdings include properties in Dublin and the rest of Ireland, such as office buildings, retail parks and business parks. The fund also holds cash alongside property assets. This means returns depend on the performance and rental value of Irish commercial property rather than shares or bonds.

The Aviva Irish Commercial Property is managed actively by Aviva Life and Pensions DAC’s local property team. The team is described as having significant experience in acquisition, asset management and development. That means the managers aim to select and manage properties rather than simply track an index. The fund follows a core-plus approach, which generally means it seeks a balance between stable core assets and opportunities for some added growth.

The Aviva Irish Commercial Property focuses on Irish property, with assets in Dublin and the rest of Ireland. Its top holdings include well-known locations such as Blackrock Village Centre, Zurich House in Blackrock, The Globe Retail Park in Naas, and several Dublin office properties. This gives the fund a concentrated exposure to the Irish commercial property market. Investors should note that concentration in one country can make performance more dependent on local property conditions.

The Aviva Irish Commercial Property carries several key risks, including market fluctuations, liquidity risk, counterparty risk, derivatives risk and pricing basis risk. Liquidity risk means it may be hard to sell property quickly at a fair price if many investors want to withdraw at once. Capital and returns are not guaranteed, so investors could lose money. The fund has a relatively high SRI rating of 5, which indicates a higher level of risk compared with lower-rated funds.

The Aviva Irish Commercial Property has been shaped by the merger of the Aviva Irish Property Fund and the Friends First Irish Commercial Property fund in May 2022. It also incorporates ESG and sustainability into asset management and investment decisions, and it is classified as an Article 8 fund. In addition, Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC temporarily suspended redemptions received after 5:30pm on 31 October 2023 for up to six months because of recent net outflows. That means investors may not always be able to withdraw or switch money immediately.