7:15 AM

REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

8:00 AM

WELCOMING & OPENING REMARKS

Conference Co-Chairs:
Eric Plesman, Senior Vice President, Investments, Oxford Properties Group Inc. 
Louis Voizard, Senior Vice President, Growth Markets, Ivanhoé Cambridge

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS: GLOBAL PROPERTY MARKET ACTIVITY AND FORECASTS

WHAT WERE THE MAJOR TRENDS IN 2014? DID CANADA LEAD THE WESTERN MARKETS LAST YEAR AGAIN? WHAT LIES AHEAD?

An overview of how real estate has performed based upon risk adjusted returns in major global markets over the past year. How are the risk/return scores shifting? In which markets? Has cap rate compression gone too far? What have been the “best in class” properties over this period of time? Which markets have hit “bottom” in the past twelve months and are entering a phase of the cycle offering high quality investment opportunities? Which markets have performed above the norm? The presentation will include a risk adjusted ranking of over 25 major western markets around the world surveyed in the IPD Global Annual Property Index. North America and EMEA each comprise 42% of the weighted total, with the remaining 16% in Asia Pacific.

Speaker:
Simon Fairchild, Executive Director, IPD Canada

HOW FAR HAVE GLOBAL REAL ESTATE MARKETS TURNED THE CORNER? 
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE? WHERE SHOULD YOU BE LOOKING?

An examination of the most significant trends in property markets around the world during the past year. 
Numerous indications are the interest in real estate globally is on a significant rise. How far is this likely to continue given the wide range of economic and political conditions in various countries and regions? On the one hand, there are dire predictions of challenging times remaining and possibly increasing again in the EuroZone. But at the same time, the London market is possibly at the hottest in the world. The U.S. economy in the meantime appears to outperforming most people’s expectations. And then there is the political drama in Hong Kong and the overall prognosis for the economy in China along with a sluggish economy in Brazil. What does this mean with respect to investor interest in growing and emerging markets? What are the major issues and challenges facing investors, owners, and private and public equity decision-making in a global context in 2015? Where is the pricing of assets heading in international markets? Since investment is driven by fundamentals, which markets are likely to attract the greatest investor interest?

Speaker: 
Simon Fairchild, Executive Director, IPD Canada

RENEWED CONFIDENCE IN GLOBAL REAL ESTATE: WHERE CAN I FIND REASONABLE RISK ADJUSTED RETURNS NOTWITHSTANDING THE VOLATILITY IN SOME MARKETS?

Given the challenges faced by other asset classes, real estate has outperformed many by offering investors steady and favourable yields. Cash flows offer safety. Hard assets have been attractive due to the volatility in the capital markets. Since 2010, large volumes of capital have flowed into the property markets. What is happening now with allocations to real estate among institutional investors, portfolio managers and private equity funds as they look forward to 2015? Are we likely to see a pause in property investment or a pullback or will we actual witness a continued growth? Where are investors finding reasonable risk adjusted returns that are drawing their attention?

9:50 AM

MORNING REFRESHMENTS

10:20 AM

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (SELECT AA1 OR AA2)

SESSION AA1
CAN YOU STILL FIND GOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN THE U.S. OR HAS THIS MARKET BECOME TOO EXPENSIVE?

This session will provide an update on the U.S. market. With the surge in employment, housing starts, inflation and GDP growth, where is the market now in the cycle? What range of investment opportunities still exist, eg. core vs. secondary markets? Are some funds who invested in the U.S. in the past two to three years still are coming out as that market is becoming very expensive? Who are the most prevalent buyers and sellers at this time? Where at cap rates at this time and where are they heading? What are the speed bumps to watch for? Is the multi-unit residential property class outperforming all others? Given the growth in overall consumer confidence, how is the retail market now doing? What will happen to the real estate asset class if the U.S. economy continues to expand and grow in 2015?

SESSION AA2
SPOTLIGHT ON LONDON: WHY IS IT CONTINUING TO BE THE HOTTEST REAL ESTATE MARKET IN THE WORLD? IS LONDON FINALLY AT PEAK PRICING?

A very focused session on the world’s hottest property markets from an investment, development and leasing perspective. Why is there so investor interest so strong in this city? What has enabled London’s property market to withstand many of the impacts of European economic issues and other trends? How are the leasing markets performing? Where are cap rates at this time and where are they heading? Are office rents hardening? What are the challenges faced by development projects? Which property classes are enjoying the greatest returns? What potentially lies ahead for London in 2015?

11:20 AM

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (SELECT BB1 OR BB2)

SESSION BB1
WORLD WINNING CITIES FOR REAL ESTATE PERFORMANCE AND INVESTMENT: YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT THE ANSWERS

An insightful presentation focusing on the evolution over ten years of research and analysis on the positioning of 300 global cities within an international framework. Where are the commercial real estate markets with the best opportunities? How much do you know about the 30 cities that represent 50% of the total value of global real estate? Discussion will also include the performance of prime office space in 95 major markets, nearly 60% of which recorded rental uplifts over the past year with Dublin again topping the global ranking with exceptional annual growth; the 20 most dynamic global cities driven by talented workforce, pro-business policies and buoyant real estate markets; and an analysis of which of 102 markets made the greatest progress in the transparency of commercial real estate. The top improvers generally correlate with a surge in foreign direct investment. The session will end with commentary on how rapid urbanization is impacting global real estate and creating new opportunities for investors and developers.

SESSION BB2
TREND TO MAINLAND EUROPEAN MARKETS: IS THERE A DIVISION BETWEEN THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS? WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE ECONOMY POSE?

A wide ranging session that will examine all facets of Europe and the very diverse economies and property markets across this continent. To what extent is there an imbalance across the different European submarkets: Western vs. Central vs. Southern vs. Eastern? How do you compare tier one countries vs. emerging markets? Do Germany, France, Italy and Spain represent the majority of investor interest in mainland Europe? Which cities are attracting the greatest attention?  Which markets have bottomed out? How much volatility are these markets still experiencing as a result of the increasing EuroZone economic and financial issues? Is there still an outflow of capital, a lot of distress and a challenge for developers to raise equity? In the debt markets, are German banks starting to come back in?

12:10 PM

NETWORKING LUNCHEON

LUNCHEON REFRESHMENTS

1:10 PM

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (SELECT CC1 OR CC2)

SESSION CC1
FOCUS ON LATIN AMERICA: BRAZIL VS. COLOMBIA, MEXICO, PERU AND OTHER MARKETS

While Brazil has attracted the greatest amount of investment interest in the past ten years, this market for many is now deemed a challenge. Priced to perfection in some investors’ minds, the country’s economic performance is also facing some major issues. Is there some correction beginning to occur given the volatility in its currency and how expensive it is hedge? How strongly are investors now moving into other emerging markets across Latin America? Are Columbia and Peru now like Brazil was five years ago? Or are other countries offering better opportunities? What kind of returns are Latin American markets offering? To what extent are fundamentals in some of the markets much better than most investors think they are? How much interest is Mexico receiving? How far has this market moved on the risk/reward scale? Do you need to focus on hard assets if you are going to enter Mexico?

SESSION CC2
THEY ARE LOOKING BEFORE THEY LEAP: WHY CANADIANS HAVE BECOME THE SECOND LARGEST CROSS-BORDER INVESTORS?

With tremendous competition at home and a desire to expand their real estate portfolios, Canadian investors, large and small, are looking increasingly at foreign markets. Some initially tip-toed across the border into the United States, while others were more adventurous and begun to invest in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Investors going abroad face a myriad of challenges – political and economic risks, legal and tax issues, currency risk, cultural differences, professional standards and the lack of transparency, just to name a few. Why have Canadian investors been increasingly successful in moving into cross-border markets? Where are they looking? Why? Where is this trend likely to head in 2015?

2:10 PM

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (SELECT DD1 OR DD2)

SESSION DD1
RETAIL DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT: TIER ONE COUNTRIES VS. GROWING MARKETS

This session will specifically focus on the retail property class on a global basis including the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other emerging markets. Where’s the real growth: geographical markets vs. expanding retail sectors? Many major mall owners are repositioning their portfolios on regionally dominant mega malls: why and where does that leave the rest? The outlet sector was the darling of the global economic downturn: will that sector continue to grow at the same pace as economies recover? How will online sales impact on retail real estate? Which retail lines will be more greatly affected than others? Some discussion will also focus on the emergence of super prime high street pitches and global luxury retail tourism.

SESSION DD2
ROUNDTABLE OF STRATEGISTS: WHAT OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES ARE THEY SEEING?

Rarely does an investor move forward and deploy capital without the benefit of some good quality research and strategic information that helps facilitate the decision to act. Quite often the sources of this data and analysis are strategists who have a strong focus on specific markets, property classes, and regions. This roundtable will feature three senior researchers who will offer their insights on medium-term strategic opportunities, trends and risks in various global real estate markets. Discussion will focus the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific regions among others and include commentary on investment opportunities, emerging issues, market fundamentals and the medium term views of the strategists.

3:10 PM

EXECUTION OF A GLOBAL STRATEGY:  CASE STUDIES OF INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

An insightful closing roundtable discussion on how investors see the year ahead. How should you play the global markets in 2015? What strategies make the most sense? Where is the greatest potential for growth? The rise in importance of the city state has resulted in a focus being placed on 75 major cities rather than 5 to 6 countries. What would be the top ten cities/states on most investor’s list? Where are you likely to find stronger returns? What are contrarians doing? How are you mitigating risk in the current market environment? To what extent has investor philosophy changed? Are investors creating risk by placing too much pressure on “safe” markets? Has the flight of capital towards quality assets been overplayed? Will development continue to be viewed as a preferred growth strategy by many entrepreneurs? What are the challenges that an investor faces in undertaking new projects in foreign markets?

4:10 PM

ADJOURNMENT

6:15 PM

CHAIRMEN’S RECEPTION

Jointly held with the attendees to The Real Estate Forum. Canadian Room. Fairmont Royal York Hotel.