A real return focus
We focus on delivering investors real total returns as opposed to returns relative to an index (which may contain large assets with a high market cap, but no quality filter), and invest through the cycle while also taking advantage of select counter-cyclical opportunities. Our aim is to achieve a real increase in an investor's purchasing power over time, and benchmarking to a margin over inflation can achieve this outcome.
Steady, sustainable growth
We prefer to focus on rent-based asset returns – rather than developers or emerging markets – believing the best long-term investments come from specialised entities with sustainable and growing incomes. We avoid companies that supplement significant amounts of income from development and sales activities, and/or have unattractive capital structures.
Alignment of objectives
Quay is majority-owned by its team, and we also invest in the strategy – ensuring our goals are aligned with those of our investors. We have diverse and deep experience in global real estate, gained from roles in corporate finance, investment management and equity research.
A robust and proven investment process
We conduct in-house research, financial modelling and a balance sheet assessment of each company, followed up with face-to-face meetings. Opportunities selected for investment are continually reassessed and compared to new opportunities that arise, with care taken to understand the inter-relationships of securities within the portfolio. Strong and disciplined risk management is embedded into each stage of our investment management process.
Frequently asked questions
- What 'real total return' means
A real total return has two parts. 'Total return' combines the two ways property pays investors — the income from rent and the change in capital value — into a single measure rather than looking at either alone. 'Real' means that return is measured after inflation, so it reflects the change in genuine purchasing power rather than a headline number that inflation has flattered.
This objective differs from an index-relative one. A manager measured against a benchmark aims to beat that index, even in a year when the index itself falls. A real-return objective is concerned with growing wealth above inflation over time, which shapes how the portfolio is built: holdings are chosen on their own fundamental merit rather than by reference to their weight in an index.
For Quay, the practical consequence is a concentrated portfolio of companies whose rental income is judged to be sustainable and capable of growing through the cycle. The aim is durable income and capital growth that, together, stay ahead of inflation over the long term.
- How is a real return different from a nominal return?
A nominal return is the headline figure before inflation. A real return subtracts inflation, showing how much an investor's purchasing power has actually grown.
- Why does Quay focus on real total return rather than beating an index?
Quay's objective is to grow investors' wealth in real terms over the long term. Measuring against an index can reward relative performance even when absolute returns are poor; a real-return focus keeps the emphasis on outcomes investors can spend.
- Does a real-return objective mean lower risk?
No. A real-return objective describes the goal, not the risk. All investments carry risk, returns are not guaranteed, and the value of investments can fall as well as rise.