PREA Announces Winners of the 2022 PREA Real Estate Investment Management ESG Awards

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Mar 24, 2022, 10:00 ET

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) announced the winners of the 2022 PREA Real Estate Investment Management ESG Awards at the group's Spring Conference in Beverly Hills on March 23. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are increasingly central to investment decision making, and these awards were introduced by PREA to recognize private equity real estate funds at the forefront of ESG within real estate investing.

By highlighting these award-winning investment funds, PREA is not only recognizing industry leaders, but also providing examples to the industry of how properly implemented ESG programs can help foster a more sustainable and socially responsible future, without sacrificing investment performance.

Five awards were presented in different categories: PREA Open-End Fund ESG Award, PREA Closed-End ESG Award, PREA ESG Momentum Award, PREA Emerging Manager ESG Award, and PREA Social Impact ESG Award.

This is the second year the awards were presented, but the first year in which the Social Impact category was included. PREA once again received a tremendous response to its call for submissions for the awards, attracting submissions from 47 real funds with aggregate net assets under management of over $167 billion USD. Submissions were judged by a panel of experts from outside PREA, and independent of any investment manager or institutional investor.

WINNERS
The winners of the 2022 PREA Real Estate Investment Management ESG Awards in the five categories are:

PREA Emerging Manager ESG Award
To recognize excellence in addressing ESG issues by emerging real estate investment management firms.

2022 Winner: SoLa Impact
From Martin Muoto, CEO of SoLa Impact: "Ultimately, real estate is most successful when it meets the needs of the communities it serves. Many of the challenges the world is facing cannot be solved without investing significant capital into the ESG sector. SoLa Impact is demonstrating that when it comes to social returns and financial results, we don't have to choose one or the other—you can 'Do Well by Doing Good.' PREA and the pension fund industry are setting a strong example of rewarding intentional ESG investing and we are incredibly proud to be recognized by PREA for our work.

PREA Open-End Fund ESG Award
To recognize excellence in addressing ESG issues by open-end real estate funds.

2022 Winner: Hines European Core Fund (managed by Hines)
From Simone Pozzato, Fund Manager of the Hines European Core Fund, Hines: "It is an honor to win the PREA Open-End Fund ESG award for a second year in a row for our Hines European Core Fund. The award is a testament to our team's exceptional ongoing work in ESG-focused asset management and community driven initiatives. With the urgency of transitioning towards a Net Zero Economy, ESG performance is increasingly correlated with financial returns as core investors are now extremely focused on adding sustainable assets to their portfolios. I am confident that our continued efforts to respond to communities' social needs, carbon neutrality and innovation in asset management will create long- lasting impact on the neighborhoods we serve, and also seek to provide benchmark-leading financial performance for our investors."

PREA Closed-End Fund ESG Award
To recognize excellence in addressing ESG issues by closed-end real estate funds.

2022 Winner: Welput (managed BentallGreenOak)
From Ker Gilchrist, Managing Partner for Welput, at BentallGreenOak: "Drawing on the power of BentallGreenOak's global platform and ESG capabilities, Welput continues to challenge the boundaries for what can be achieved to develop sustainable office buildings that will respond to ESG demands now and into the future. Our Welput team approaches their ESG mission with a bottom-up and top-down strategy that examines the attributes of each asset and explores in detail how we can improve our plan. I'm delighted by and grateful for the recognition that this award brings to our work, as we remain steadfast in our ambition to make Welput net zero-ready in the short term."

PREA ESG Momentum Award
To recognize industry-leading and innovative approaches to ESG issues among open- and closed-end real estate funds, and/or significant recent advances in ESG outcomes.

2022 Winner: Jamestown Premier Property Fund (managed by Jamestown LP)
From Josh Wechter, Managing Director and Fund Manager for the Premier Property Fund, Jamestown "The future of real estate is built on sustainable development principles and operations. Each year, we make progress toward that vision and aim higher. The PREA ESG Momentum Award affirms both our progress to date and our long-term ESG strategy."

PREA Social Impact ESG Award
To recognize excellence in addressing social issues among real estate funds.

2022 Winner: Turner Multifamily Impact Fund (managed by Turner Impact Capital)
From Bobby Turner, CEO, Turner Impact Capital: "Turner Impact Capital is thrilled for PREA's first-ever Social Impact ESG Award to honor Turner Multifamily Impact Fund I. We're proud to be addressing America's severe housing crisis by acquiring and preserving thousands of units of workforce housing nationwide, while generating strong and dependable returns for investors. This recognition by PREA is tremendous validation of our firm's core mission: to create positive change through market-driven solutions to some of our nation's greatest challenges."

Greg MacKinnon, Director of Research at PREA, said:
"Society is built on real estate, and to be successful as an investment in the long run real estate needs to reflect the broader needs and concerns of society. Incorporating ESG considerations into the investment decision process not only contributes to creating a more sustainable future, but makes business sense. All of the 2022 winners of our ESG awards show that, appropriately designed, a real estate investment program can have significant, positive impacts on society and the communities in which it operates, while at the same time providing competitive investment performance. At PREA, we are proud to recognize these real estate investment managers at the vanguard of incorporating ESG considerations into their investment strategies."

About SoLa Impact
SoLa Impact is a family of real estate funds with a double bottom line strategy focused on preserving, rehabbing, and building high-quality affordable housing in Black and brown communities. SoLa's proven track record leverages data-driven social impact strategies to deliver superior financial returns. SoLa Impact's fourth fund, the Black Impact Fund, is part of an initiative to invest over $1 billion in affordable and workforce housing and related social impact strategies across urban cities in California.

SoLa Impact was ranked as the 7th fastest-growing minority-led private company on Inc. Magazine's 500 list and was also recognized by Forbes Magazine and the Sorenson Impact Center as the leading urban Opportunity Zone fund in the country. SoLa Impact's funds have attracted a number of leading investors seeking yield while also remaining committed to Diversity & Inclusion and delivering impact through ESG initiatives.

About PREA
Founded in 1979, the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) is a non-profit trade association for the global institutional real estate investment industry. PREA currently lists over 700 corporate member firms across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Our members include public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, Taft-Hartley funds, insurance companies, investment advisory firms, REITs, developers, real estate operating companies and industry service providers

SOURCE SoLa Impact