Personal investment

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A number of UK property funds have been suspended over the last few hours after being hit by the coronavirus market panic.

Yesterday Kames Capital banned trading on its £585m Property Income fund and it was followed this morning Janus Henderson, BMO, Aviva and Aberdeen Standard.

Columbia Threadneedle is the latest to join them in the last few minutes suspending dealing in the Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment Fund blaming "exceptional uncertainty".

FCA rules require that funds should suspend trading of units if material uncertainty is applied to more than 20% of a fund’s immovable assets.

Late last year M&G suspended its £2.3bn Property Portfolio due to liquidity concerns.

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Quote Message: It’s yet another blow for loyal NS&I savers, who treasure the fact their savings are 100% guaranteed by the government, and have lived with increasingly uncompetitive rates in order to stick with the institution. It’s not all the NS&I’s fault. Its hands are tied, because it needs to offer value for money compared to government debt, and rates are so ridiculously low at the moment that the only way to compete is by offering something horribly uninspiring to savers. You don’t need to sit back and take this though, because the FSCS guarantees the first £85,000 saved with each institution, so this should be all the incentive you need to check out the competition and make your money work harder.” from Sarah Coles personal finance analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

It’s yet another blow for loyal NS&I savers, who treasure the fact their savings are 100% guaranteed by the government, and have lived with increasingly uncompetitive rates in order to stick with the institution. It’s not all the NS&I’s fault. Its hands are tied, because it needs to offer value for money compared to government debt, and rates are so ridiculously low at the moment that the only way to compete is by offering something horribly uninspiring to savers. You don’t need to sit back and take this though, because the FSCS guarantees the first £85,000 saved with each institution, so this should be all the incentive you need to check out the competition and make your money work harder.”

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M&G has this morning confirmed that its £2.5bn property portfolio will remain suspended as it continues the process of selling properties to boost the cash position.

The company suspended the fund last month blaming "Brexit-related political uncertainty" and difficulties in the retail sector for the situation.

It has since sold £70.4m of assets with a further £172.2m under offer or in solicitors' hands, it said.

“Since suspending the fund, we’ve been encouraged by the support of many investors in the fund, who understand our decision to give the managers room and time to complete disposals from the portfolio at fair prices," said Jack Daniels, chief investment officer at M&G.

"While customers want ready access to their investments, it’s also important that their long-term interests are protected.”

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There'll be no quick fix to problems at M&G's commercial property fund, according to investment expert Ryan Hughes.

Withdrawals from the huge fund have been suspended, and the head of portfolio management at AJ Bell says it could be at least four months before investors can get their hands on their money.

He tells the BBC's Today programme there's a "fundamental problem" with such funds, as anyone who's tried to sell their house will know. Investors want easy access to their cash - yet selling a property can take months.

In a bid to soften the blow to investors, M&G is cutting its fees by 30%. But, says Mr Hughes, "we don't know how it arrived at that figure, and investors might be asking, why are we having to pay any fees at all when we can't access our money?"