JP Morgan's Waller: Companies can't just reduce their office space by 40%

Real estate opportunities still exist, manager claims

Investors should not disregard opportunities in the real estate market, despite upheaval caused to the high-value office space sector as a result of the pandemic, according to JPMorgan Global Core Real Assets (JARA) portfolio manager Philip Waller.

Launched in September 2019, JARA invests in a globally diversified portfolio of more than 700 individual 'core' real assets and achieved its first-year dividend target of 2% to 3% in the first three dividends it has paid to shareholders.  Waller said that while corporate use of office space is evolving, companies will still need a physical location even with many employees still working from home. "Even if we start working from home 40% of the time, that does not mean that companies can just reduce their office space by 40%," he explained. "People will probably choose to work from ...