Activity Report
2021

Professional Standards

The INREV Professional Standards programme promotes and advances industry guidelines and standards for the non-listed real estate investment market, in close collaboration with INREV committees and focus groups. The standards are increasingly global in focus reflecting the evolution of the industry and collaboration with global association partners. In 2021 increasingly the key themes of the programme include ESG, net zero carbon and climate change, on top of the regular topics of fee and expense metrics, performance measurement, financial and investor reporting, due diligence, secondary markets and liquidity.

INREV Guidelines Review

• In 2021, INREV started a major review of its guidelines, a project which will continue into 2022. The aim of this review is to ‘future-proof’ the guidelines, making enhancements and adjustments to better reflect the needs of the industry of today and tomorrow. The review was broken down into two phases, with phase one covering a review of performance measurement and governance modules completed in 2021.
• A Guidelines steering committee comprising of the relevant committee chairs as well as INREV’s CEO and MB representatives, was established to oversee the process. Detailed work was carried out by the individual committees.
• Fund of Funds DDQ updated since the last version published seven years ago.
• A new DDQ appendix on Social Aspects.

In September, the reviewed modules were presented and a seven-week consultation period opened to give members the opportunity to share their views digitally or at one of three round table events. The revised modules came into effect at the start of 2022, with a transition period of approximately one year, until the end of 2022, to give organisations time to put the updated modules into effect.

ESG themes continue to dominate the agenda

Industry wide, 2021 was a big year for the sustainability agenda given the introduction of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in March. To assist the industry in navigating the requirements of SFDR, INREV published a summary ‘The Impact of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation’ of all key provisions and indications on how to prepare for these regulatory requirements. The paper was supplemented with an online briefing with industry experts to share insights from the paper and to answer any questions that members may have ahead of the implementation date.

In April, INREV joined IEIF and Green Soluce in the launch of a study on sustainable investment in the real estate industry. The aim of the study was to better understand the current sustainable investment practices in the European real estate sector, this was followed by an online briefing in May.

To support the industry in identifying the steps that need to be taken to achieve Net Zero Carbon, INREV published a paper ‘The Impact of Net Zero Carbon’. The paper outlines the current landscape in terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the built environment as well as the rationale for setting targets and insights into how to execute these targets effectively. The paper was officially launched in November and subsequently discussed during the Investor Only Seminar in Copenhagen. A more technical paper is set to follow in 2022.

The Global ESG library continued to be an important tool for members in 2021 and the library was supplemented with new case studies submitted by members on ESG Strategy, Governance and Impact investing. A new template was launched for the case studies to make comparison easier and to streamline the information more succinctly.

Building on the extensive range of appendices now available for the INREV Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ), an appendix on ESG Social aspects including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was released. Work has also started on a Climate Risk and an Impact Investing appendix, both of which are scheduled for review and published in early 2022.

Trends in investor reporting

The bi-annual Trends in Investor Reporting Study was conducted in 2021, which gives insight into current market practices in investor reporting, and specifically to which extent reporting complies with the requirements and recommendations of the INREV Guidelines.

According to the results of the study, compliance with INREV Guidelines reached a record level of 90% across the Reporting, Property Valuation, INREV NAV, Fee and Expense Metrics and Performance Measurement modules, while compliance with the Total Global Expense Ratio (TGER) launched in 2020 has already reached 85%.

Further steps taken for global

In April, INREV published a paper, ‘Assets Under Management 2021’ together with NCREIF and PREA’s Reporting Standards and ANREV to provide a clear overview of each component considered by investment managers used to calculate AUM.

To complement the paper, INREV launched an AUM disclosure tool in June to assist investment managers in facilitating clear and transparent reporting of AUM components for different reporting purposes. The excel based tool includes a drop-down menu to specify how each of the AUM components are reported within the calculation.

Another important step was taken in the ongoing effort towards global standards with 31 new definitions added to the Global Definitions Database (GDD) The new definitions covered Vehicle Terms and Structuring, ESG/Sustainability, Asset Management, and Institutions/Standards.

A common approach to pricing

The Open End Fund Pricing Conclusion paper was launched in April including a very timely and relevant section on pricing policy in exceptional market circumstances. Recommendation from this paper were worked into the governance module during the Guidelines review process.

INREV Research

INREV is the leading source of industry insight into the European non-listed real estate industry, providing high quality and rigorous research and analysis. The following reports were published in 2021:

Topical Research

• Characteristics of Non-Listed Real Estate in Investment Portfolio
• Real Estate as a Commodity, Product and Service: The User-centric Opportunity
• Debt Vehicles Universe
• Quarterly Market Insights
• Quarterly Sentiment and Valuations Surveys
• Global Management Survey
• Global Real Estate DEI Survey

Annual Research

• Investment Intentions Survey
• Capital Raising Survey
• Fund Manager Survey
• Fund Terminations Study
• Funds of Funds Study
• Management Fees and Terms Comparison Study (INREV – ANREV)

Technology Short Papers

• Digitisation and Tokenisation of Real Estate Investments

The top three rated research pieces in 2021 according to the INREV membership survey were the Investment Intentions Survey, the Capital Raising and the Management Fees and Terms Study. The quarterly Market Insights papers came in at number four, just ahead of the Fund Manager Survey.

Characteristics of non-listed real estate in the investment portfolio

The position of real estate in institutional investor portfolios has long been discussed and it is widely accepted that real estate as an asset class has desirable investment attributes, such as attractive risk-adjusted performance, diversification potential in a multi-asset portfolio, a high and stable income return and a degree of inflation protection. At the on-line Annual Conference, INREV published a research paper to explore with new data the various arguments for non-listed real estate in the multi asset portfolio.

Real Estate as a commodity, product and service: the user centric opportunity

To provide members with further insights around the growing trend toward the productisation of real estate, INREV published a second paper on this topic in June, ‘Real Estate as a Commodity, Product and Service: The study explores how real estate is delivered to end users across the spectrum of commoditisation, productisation and hotelisation, and unravelling how user-centric strategies add value to each. User centric strategies offer the opportunity to drive stronger returns and protect income, ultimately progressing the wider economy, society and the environment. This topic was presented during the online Young Professionals Seminar in July.

Enhanced Debt Vehicles Universe study increased transparency of the European non-listed real estate debt space

The Debt Vehicles Universe Study featured 95 vehicles and was published in 2021 with a total target equity of €57.8 billion, doubling in size since 2016. The study includes 21 newly added vehicles, of which ten were launched in the last three years, whilst four funds were removed due to liquidation.

The 2021 publication was expanded to include a focus on the younger fund vintages (launched between 2019 and 2021) to enable a closer monitoring of this growing and still relatively untransparent market. The INREV Debt Fund focus group was expanded to continue to build momentum and raise awareness of INREV’s initiatives in the European non-listed real estate space.

Global Management Benchmark Survey

In October, INREV joined Ferguson Partners and NAREIM in their Global Fund Management Survey 2021, a comprehensive annual global study of enterprise benchmarking and management practices in the commercial real estate industry. The report was shared only with participating organisations and an executive summary with all INREV members. The results and how these insights could support investment managers further will be discussed in more detail in a briefing in March 2022.

Global Real Estate DEI Survey

INREV participated in the first Global Real Estate DEI Survey – a collaboration with Ferguson Partners and six other industry associations (ANREV, NAREIM, NCREIF, PREA, REALPAC and ULI) to track global real estate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) data around corporate practices. This paper was launched in December and marks an important step in facilitating a shift toward becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry that is fit for the future.

Market Information

INREV's market information is an important source of accurate and comprehensive data on the non-listed real estate industry. The market information suite – indices, vehicles universes and online interactive analysis tools – supports all aspects of the real estate investment process, from asset allocation to performance measurement and related analytics. It allows market and peer-to-peer comparison and drives greater transparency and accessibility of the European non listed real estate industry.

The INREV Market Information programme incorporates 11 indices:

Asset level:
- INREV Annual Asset Level Index
- INREV Quarterly Asset Level Index

Fund level:
- INREV Annual Fund Index
- INREV Quarterly Fund Index
- INREV European ODCE Index
- IRR Index

Vehicle level:
- Annual German Vehicles Index
- Quarterly German Vehicles Index

Global:
- GREFI – Global Real Estate Fund Index
- Global IRR Index
- Global Investor Index

Three databases:
- INREV Vehicles Universe
- Debt Funds Universe
- Funds of Funds Universe (INREV and ANREV)

Four online analytical analysis tools:
- Fund Index Analysis Tool
- Asset Level Index Analysis Tool
- German Vehicles Index Analysis Tool
- Investor Vehicle Analysis Tool

Growth and stabilisation of the Asset Level Index

Coverage and representation of the INREV Asset Level Index has grown to include 6,499 assets, valued at €205 billion as at the end of the Q4 2021 reporting period. This significantly exceeds the original commitments of circa €150 billion with its size and composition meeting the end of consultation target. The continuation in growth of the index is expected given the strong interest among existing and potential members.

The historical data exercise continued throughout 2021, continuously enhancing the historical data quality and coverage as well as backfilling fund level information in preparation for an asset to fund level attribution module planned for release in 2022.

Strengthening the ODCE index governance

The 14 funds European ODCE Index grew in 2021 to reach €41.5 billion in GAV by the end of the Q4 2021 reporting period, up by 18% year-on-year.

Requirements to be part of the index for both existing funds and new joiners were reviewed to ensure the index remains fit for purpose as the European market evolves, with the aim to align closely with the NCREIF and ANREV indices. Key changes include enhanced diversification requirements and life cycle and financial occupancy. The revisions were implemented to incorporate both asset level and fund level criteria in a way which corresponds to each other and can be part of the asset to fund level attribution module planned for 2022.

The INREV European ODCE Fund Index will change to pure INREV NAV reporting from Q1 2022. INREV NAV reporting will also be compulsory for all future joiners to the INREV ODCE Index. Reporting metrics of the ODCE have been expanded with a distribution of returns and equally weighted returns to provide more granular level insights into performance.

Enhanced INREV Fund Analysis Tool

Throughout 2021, INREV continued to increase the quality and completeness of its suite of market information with a growing range of insights into the performance of European non-listed vehicles. As an integral part of INREV’s overall IT roadmap, the INREV Fund Analysis Tool was enhanced to allow members to further expand trend and performance analytics in the non-listed real estate industry. Key enhancements include peer comparison and custom index creation and saving functionality.

Public Affairs

In 2021, INREV has continued to represent member interests by increasing policymakers’ awareness and understanding of the role and contribution of the estate investment industry in Europe. Industry responses were developed together with other relevant associations and submitted with regard to various regulatory consultations, further strengthening INREV’s position in supporting the interests of the non listed real estate industry.

Ensuring a finger on the pulse with an office in Brussels makes it possible to provide members with first-hand insights into the development and implementation of regulatory and policy initiatives. Through a diverse and accessible range of briefing calls, events, invitation-only Round Tables focused on specific topics, training courses and publications, both members and the regulators have been able to receive and access the latest key insights.

According to the annual membership survey, the top three important regulations were considered as:

• AIFMD Review
• UK Funds Review
• EU and UK Sustainable Finance Taxonomy

Understanding the tax landscape of the future

In November, INREV published a paper and accompanying snapshot to outline the future tax landscape, offering insight into how members can navigate this new plane. The paper looks at the driving forces behind this evolution including the impact of globalisation and digitisation; the harmonised efforts to fight aggressive tax planning as a result of these global mega trends; the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Climate Crisis which has required increased tax revenues and the demands from policy makers for transparent and fair distribution of tax obligations.

Representing the interests of the industry

To ensure that policy makers remain aware of the role and importance of non-listed real estate to the European economy and society as they develop regulations and policies impacting real estate investment, INREV regularly voices the interests of the industry by assisting EU officials in shaping future policies. When developing the BEPS Pillar Two recommendations, INREV engaged with OECD to ensure continued appropriate treatment of investment funds in final recommendations. INREV continued to voice its view on AIFMD through a contributed article in the Funds Europe publication in June.

Throughout the year, 15 responses were submitted to a wide variety of industry consultations with proposed implications for the non-listed real estate industry. Responses were submitted to European Commission consultations on ELTIF, AIFMD, EU Taxonomy, EU Merger Control, Fighting the use of shell entities. Responses were also filed on AHC’s in AIF’s, RICS review of real estate investment valuations, an FCA consultation on the proposed long-term asset fund as well as HM Treasury’s consultation on residential property developers and the CFA institute consultation on ESG disclosure standards. Additionally, INREV organised and moderated six European Real Estate Forum meetings in 2021 with a wide range of guest speakers from the European institutions.

Practical Guidance for the post Brexit world

Following the official departure of the UK from the European Union on 31 January 2021, members with UK interests have faced transition challenges and INREV has remained available and ready to share the latest relevant insights on Brexit related challenges. For two key groups in particular; Compliance Officers and Legal and Tax Counsels Round Tables were held in January, April and June, and a further Round Table for Investor Relations professionals was held in June.

Keeping members informed

A key priority remains helping our members to understand and implement new regulatory requirements related to MiFID II, Sustainable Finance, ATAD, AIFMD Review, Solvency II Review and national tax law changes. In April we published an annual update to the tax and regulations country by country guide, providing an up-to-date picture of the tax rules and regulations impacting the treatment of non-listed real estate investment., Articles in the INREV IQ Magazine continued to be an effective way of keeping members informed on the latest updates from Brussels.

Education

INREV’s education programme provides the non-listed real estate industry with best-in-class content to enhance and develop industry professional knowledge and understanding. Normally training is delivered by leading content experts through a blend of classroom, online and eLearning courses, but given the pandemic only, all class room courses were once again converted to on-line courses INREV also offers the INREV / Henley Certificate from the Henley Business School, the only academic certification in the non-listed real estate industry.

In 2021, 17 courses were delivered compared to 12 courses in 2020, welcoming 603 participants representing a 30% increase on 424 participants in 2020. An average score of 4.6 (out of 5) was achieved for training courses in 2021, up from 4.5 in 2020 showing a continued satisfaction with the INREV training programme.

99% of members would recommend an INREV Training Course

Meeting the requirements of the evolving industry

ESG continued to be a major theme in the non-listed real estate industry and this was reflected in INREV’s education offering throughout the year. The ESG course was delivered twice to meet the demand for knowledge on these latest insights and received a 4.9/5 evaluation score. ESG aspects were also incorporated into the programme of other courses such as the Foundation Course and the Due Diligence Course. A new course on Impact Investing was introduced following the topic’s growing significance within the non listed real estate market.

Online becomes part of the new norm

In 2021, all courses including the eLearning courses (Foundation Course and the INREV NAV and Due Diligence) were delivered online in a multi-day format incorporating collaborative elements such as case studies and group work as well as presentations and Q&A sessions to ensure an engaging experience for participants.

An update for eLearning

Following the successful launch of eLearning in 2019, INREV enhanced some of its elearning programme. New videos and case studies were added to the Foundation Course and the Introduction to INREV NAV module. The latest one is offered as a standalone module but also as a prerequisite course for participants of the Advanced NAV course to ensure all delegates had the same level of starting knowledge.

INREV continued to offer the Due Diligence eLearning module for free in 2021.

Engaging with the future of the industry

INREV’s University Outreach programme is designed to build relationships with academia in Europe and to increase awareness and knowledge of the non-listed real estate industry by engaging with students at an early stage in their career. All outreach sessions were delivered online in 2021, presenting to nine universities including Cass Business School, HSLU, Aalto University, Ulster University, MDI Madrid, Luiss University, UvA School of Real Estate, Lucerne University of Applued Sciences and the Hogeschool Rotterdam.

The INREV / Henley Certificate: 16 graduates in 2021

The INREV / Henley Certificate issued by the Henley Business School is the only academically accredited certificate in the non-listed real estate industry. It is awarded to students who attend five INREV courses and successfully pass an assessment in the form of a written report. In 2021, 16 graduated after successfully completing the courses and assessment compared with 12 in 2020, and a further 25 enrolled in the certification.

The Henley Business School valued the redesigned online courses similar to the class room courses, allowing participants to continue with their certification during the pandemic.

Events

INREV hosted 55 events in 2021, compared with 37 events in 2020. Seven events were hosted physically including the INREV Autumn Conference which took place in Copenhagen in November. The remaining events were held online.

In total, 4480 registrations for events were welcomed throughout the year compared to 5503 in 2020. Online events enable more members to join and reduces travel and budget constraints, still a blended offering of both physical and online events is desirable, mainly for networking purposes which is not possible in an online environment. According to the results of the 2021 Annual Membership Survey, respondents from across all levels of seniority stated a strong preference to join flagship events in the on-location setting with smaller events such as seminars and briefings seeing a preference for an online setting.

INREV Annual Conference 2021: Reinvention for resilience: Getting ready for the new normal

The INREV Annual Conference 2021 once again took place online over two days and was broadcast live from a professional TV studio to ensure the highest possible quality as well as making for lively interaction between the conference moderator, presenters, panelists and attendees. For the second consecutive year, the conference was open to all members free of charge resulting in over 800 registrations. For 22% of those who attended, the conference was their first INREV event.

The theme, ‘Reinvention for resilience: Getting ready for the new normal’ featured presentations on the economic outlook, the long term impact of COVID-19, ESG, DEI, technology as the driver of innovation and real estate in the wider portfolio. An impressive list of speakers featured big names from the industry as well as those from beyond non listed real estate including Linda Yueh (Fellow in Economics, Oxford University), and John Macomber (Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School). The event was supported by four headline sponsors and ten support sponsors with headline sponsors given the opportunity to present industry insights to those who wanted to join their virtual booths. A speed networking element was introduced whereby members met other attendees during rotating five-minute one-to-one meetings. The event was fully recorded and made available to non-attending members after the event to maximise longevity of the content.

INREV Young Professionals Seminar 2021: Open for business: Preparing for a post-COVID world

A shorter edition of the Young Professionals Conference was offered to the under-35 segment of INREV membership in July welcoming over 220 registrations. The online event was organised later in the day to welcome not only European based Young Professionals but also those based in North America. The programme was centered around the theme, ‘Open for business: Preparing for the post-COVID world’ with presentations delivered by leading industry experts on the post-COVID economic bounce back, INREV’s own research on ‘Real Estate as a Commodity, Product and Service’, Alternatives, Impact Investing and Prop Tech. The programme also included a virtual networking element. Two sponsors supported this event.

In addition to the seminar, INREV hosted an online link and learn event for Young Professionals inviting renowned cultural differences expert Fons Trompenaars. In his presentation he shared insights on how different cultures perceive and analyse dilemmas. This was followed by a virtual networking opportunity for attendees to catch up in moderated small groups. INREV also organised three property tours taking in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt providing an opportunity for Young Professionals to see first-hand the latest innovations in real estate developments.

INREV Autumn Conference 2021: Serving a purpose: Working toward responsible investing

The Autumn Conference took place in November over two days in Copenhagen and welcomed over 250 registrations. This was the first on location event in over 22 months and was a long awaited reunion for INREV members. Industry experts joined the event to present on a variety of ESG related topics including Net Zero, human behaviour in the post-pandemic age, the social agenda, the private market contribution to collective social responsibility as well as broader themes including how trends drive strategy and an economic outlook in the real estate context.

Event Listing 2021

Flagship Events

• Annual Conference 2021, April (Online)
• Young Professionals Seminar, July (Online)
• Autumn Conference, November (Copenhagen)

Seminars

• Investment Intentions 2021, January (Online)
• Market Update Seminar, March (Online)
• ESG trends in Real Estate Investment, May (Online)
• Technology Seminar on Tokenisation, May (Online)
• Annual General Meeting (AGM), June (Online)
• Market Impact Seminar, June (Online)
• Valuing CRE debt for lenders and borrowers, June (Online)
• North American Seminar, September (Hybrid (In-person and online))
• Advanced Tax Seminar, November (London)
• Finance and Operations Seminar, November (London)
• Investor-Only Seminar, November (Copenhagen)
• Nick Tyrrell Research Prize seminar, December (Online)

Briefings

• INREV responds to AIFMD and ELTIF consultations, January (Online)
• Cross-Border Marketing Developments, February (Online)
• Beneficial ownership rules, March (Online)
• Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), March (Online)
• Opportunities in the UK Funds Review, March (Online)
• Europe in Focus Briefing: Market Update, April (Online)
• Updated Country-by-Country Guide, April (Online)
• Europe in Focus Briefing: DDQ and Global Definitions Database, May (Online)
• Capital Raising Survey 2021, May (Online)
• Funds Finance Trends and Considerations, May (Online)
• Europe in Focus Briefing: INREV ODCE and Asset Level Indices, June (Online)
• Q1 2021 performance, June (Online)
• Merger Control procedures review, June (Online)
• EC and the fight against the use of shell entities, August (Online)
• UK climate-related disclosures, September (Online)
• Funds Termination Study 2021, September (Online)
• Making sense out of the new fund marketing landscape, September (Online)
• Market Insights Q2 2021, October (Online)
• AML and ATF Requirements for Real Estate Investments, October (Online)
• Debt Vehicles Universe 2021, November (Online)
• UK Long-Term Asset Fund, November (Online)
• Q3 2021 Index results, December (Online)

Round Tables

• Brexit-related challenges: Compliance Officers, January (Online)
• Brexit-related challenges: Tax and Legal Counsel, January (Online)
• Compliance Officers, April (Online)
• Tax & Legal Counsel, April (Online)
• Tax & Legal Counsel, June (Online)
• Compliance Officer, June (Online)
• Marketing and Investor Relations Professionals, June (Online)
• Marketing and Investor Relations Professionals, September (Online)
• Guidelines Review Member Consultation - Performance Measurement, October (Online)
• Guidelines Review Member Consultation, October (Online)
• Compliance Officer, October (Online)
• Tax & Legal Counsel, October (Online)
• Marketing and Investor Relations Professionals, November (Online)

Young Professionals

• Link and Learn, February (Online)
• Property Tour, September (Amsterdam)
• Property Tour, September (Frankfurt)
• Property Tour, October (London)

Marketing and Communications

In 2021, INREV continued to provide members with the latest updates on INREV products and services as well as the latest insights from the European non-listed real estate industry.

Building upon the progress in 2020 in offering more easily accessible online content, 2021 was about further tailoring the content to members making it easier to find insights and information in a more logical manner. To enhance the online experience for INREV members, a major project was initiated to review the website with a focus on user experience, content architecture and reflecting the manner that members interact with pages and improving accessibility to content.

The voice of the industry

Press coverage was much deeper in 2021, INREV pitched a variety of angles from each report, taking a much more tailored approach, which resulted in journalists producing more detailed articles using INREV insights and data. We also covered bigger themes, further reinforcing INREV’s position as a thought leader in the non-listed real estate industry. In total, 189 pieces of press coverage was linked to INREV in 2021 (187 pieces of trade press coverage and 2 national press coverage pieces).

Additional to traditional press, INREV secured ten interviews with podcast outlets, introducing a further element of dialogue with the wider industry. As part of the CEO media outreach programme, 8 interviews were secured covering the three market trends as highlighted in the business plan (ESG, Technology and the long term impact of COVID-19.

Throughout the year, three online IQ magazines were published and one printed version distributed at the Autumn Conference in Copenhagen with 39 IQ articles in total covering a broad range of topics including the European Debt Market, ESG, Climate regulations, Life Sciences. Updates on INREV initiatives and projects were also highlighted in the IQ on topics such as the IT Roadmap and the INREV Guidelines Review.

A strong and growing community

To enable members to search for industry partners with specific expertise and to highlight their organisation’s expertise, new search functionality was added to the INREV Membership Directory for company type, business focus, regional focus and office location following an email campaign to ask members to update their profiles with this new information. A new feature was also introduced to enable members to add a company description of their choice to their corporate profile. At the end of 2021, 148 main representatives had updated their corporate profile.

In 2021, the social community continued with strong growth with LinkedIn followers totaling 6950 at the end of 2021, representing a 21% growth in followers throughout the year. The INREV Twitter account recorded 1736 followers at the end of 2021, an increase of 9% on the previous year. Both figures indicate an encouraging response to the content shared on INREV’s online channels and also a shift in the behavior of how members and the wider non listed community like to consume information. INREV has continued to share its news items on social channels during 2021 including welcoming new members so that the industry can see who is joining the membership community.

Taking feedback onboard

In September, INREV issued an annual membership survey to seek the views of membership on the success and relevance of INREV’s activities. The survey helps INREV to understand the needs of the members and identifies gaps in what is currently offered. The findings of the survey showed an overwhelming request for INREV to provide further insights and practical guidance on ESG related topics such as SFDR, ESG performance and data, ESG reporting, Net Zero and climate risk.

In 2021, a new website project was initiated to enhance the overall experience of the INREV website following feedback from members that information should be easier to find suggesting the existing architecture of the website was in need of revision. INREV consulted a User Experience (UX) expert to conduct a review of the website from a UX and Information architecture perspective and to give a recommendation on the steps required to improve the experience of visitors to the website. User testing was carried out throughout the summer with the support of many members.

The redesign of the INREV website will be gradually phased throughout 2022.

Member outreach

Throughout the year INREV kept connected with its members, reaching out to ensure they remained well informed of the wide ranging benefits of INREV membership and to gain a better understanding of what they needed to help navigate the current landscape.

In 2021, over 1000 one-to one meetings took place with members online. INREV held over 104 web-based demonstrations (compared to 40 in 2020) to explain the benefits available to members and to demonstrate and train members on how to use the analysis tools. Most of these appointments were booked through the online booking form on the website, a new feature that was introduced in 2021.

An additional 37 new members joined during the year, including 10 institutional investors.

A more savvy approach to content

Due to the huge influx of information available for members, even beyond their INREV membership, efforts were made in 2021 to be more savvy with content and to use a variety of mediums to convey information, from better visualisation of data reports to Annual Conference content previews.

Infographics which already exist for many of our reports were introduced to accompany the quarterly market insights report and sentiment survey, offering members who lack time to read these reports in depth the opportunity to view the key highlights in a visually appealing and alternative format.

To engage with the Annual Conference community pre-event and as a way of promoting the event to those not yet registered, the production of speaker preview videos increased in 2021 enabling members to hear short recordings from speakers sharing quick previews of what to expect during their presentation. These videos have worked especially well, receiving many views on social media.

To ensure content is not lost amid the vast amount of content available on the website, new web banners have been placed on the INREV IQ website suggesting related articles to read. One example is an IQ article related to ESG which included a content banner suggesting to watch the recording of an annual conference presentation on the topic of ESG.

Increased awareness of INREV insights, products and services

In 2021, INREV ESG Month took place in September highlighting existing content on the topic and bringing this to the attention of members via the newsletter, emails and social media. The pinnacle of the campaign was the launch of the Net Zero Paper among other activities including promotion of ESG case studies, new definitions and related events and training courses for members to take part in.

INREV Standards Month was also introduced in 2021 to increase awareness of the INREV Guidelines as well as the range of standardised templates and best practice examples available to members. The main objective of the campaign was to launch the INREV Guidelines Review, the first major overhaul of the INREV Guidelines since 2014. Activities included awareness building around the purpose of the review as well as informative elements on key dates to respond to the consultation or join a seminar to learn more. A social media campaign to highlight each of the Standards templates was published on twitter and LinkedIn.

Doubling down on marketing efforts

INREV continued to increase its focus on marketing. Since 2021, HubSpot, the inbound marketing tool is fully implemented and being used to deliver targeted marketing campaigns with two objectives, to increase awareness of INREV content and to encourage more representatives to actively use their INREV corporate membership, in turn increasing membership value for each organisation.

Using Hubspot’s user flow methodology, various campaigns have been established to ‘nurture’ members guiding them along a journey and providing them with relevant insights based on their preferences with targeted email campaigns. This included sharing national insights with members from the Investment Intentions Survey and setting up regular touch points for new members to ensure they can experience the value of INREV membership from day one.

Recognising the difference in how Young Professionals engage with INREV, a special one-off newsletter for Young Professionals was launched in the summer. The newsletter included a member profile of a Young Professional, a back to basics article on the topic of AIFMD, and a breakdown of the upcoming relevant events and courses. Higher than average open and click rates indicated that the timing and content was well appreciated.

Information Technology

In 2021, INREV continued its journey to enhance its Information Technology platform and further create value to the membership with its IT Roadmap. The focus in 2021 was on expanding digital services, improving data collection and member data access, and streamlining the process, ultimately creating more value for users.

Soft launch: Analysis tool enhancements

An enriched index analysis tool was soft launched to a small group of members for feedback. The main rollout to all members is scheduled for Q1 2022. The update features an enhanced comparison mode so that the users that provide vehicle data, can create and compare the performance of their customised index against any market index. The enriched index analysis tool offers better analysis of performance, sector and country allocation information for the INREV/ANREV Indices with an array of filters to dissect the data by key fund characteristics.

A complete data warehouse: Richer analysis, richer insights

One of the main objectives of the IT Roadmap is to enhance the member experience by consolidating all data in a centralised, easy to access environment: The INREV Data Platform supported by an integrated Data Warehouse

Following on from the successful migration of vehicle and asset indices data to the Data Platform, in 2021 all remaining historical collected survey data has now been cleaned and imported into the new data warehouse, including data of the Investment Intentions and the Fund Manager survey.

This centralized data collection into one data warehouse offers several befits; increased efficiency and ease for members when providing data, increased data validation using historical data sets and increased analytical possibilities.

The Research and Market Information team were fully trained on Power BI by the end of 2021 enabling more efficient and dynamic analysis of data. They are also able to create historical time series, combine different sources of data and create in-depth reports to uncover much richer analysis.

ISO 27001 cyber security international standard

As a custodian of member data, INREV is responsible for ensuring the highest standards in security, governance and auditing in relation to accessing, collecting and storing the data that it holds. In 2021 INREV continued the implementation of the ISO 27001 international standard, aiming for certification with an accredited body in 2022.

Guiding the industry in its digital transformation

INREV supports the industry in its digital transformation with timely research and insights as well as facilitated discussion at topical events to assist members in navigating this new frontier.

In May, a third paper in the INREV Technology series was published; ‘Digitisation and tokenisation of Real Estate Investments’. This paper focused primarily on how blockchain and tokenisation can play a role in non listed real estate investments, when making investments into funds or individual assets, as well as the wider use of this technology in a much broader range of real estate related processes. To further educate members on this topic, a dedicated IQ article was published in Q3 and an online seminar was held.