KKR To Offer Private Real Estate To Individual Investors With KREST Launch

Global investment company KKR & Co. (KKR) has launched KKR Real Estate Select Trust (KREST) with an innovative structure that allows individual investors access to the fund.

KREST will enable daily subscriptions via a ticker and also provide daily net asset value (NAV). It will mainly invest in income-generating commercial real estate, prime single-tenant real estate, and private real estate debt and preferred equity interests in the U.S. The trust also has a flexible mandate to invest across the globe, including Europe and Asia.

Ralph Rosenberg, Chairman of KREST and Global Head of KKR Real Estate (KREF) said, “We are excited to offer individual investors access to income-producing private real estate investments with a new strategy and structure.” (See KKR & Co stock analysis on TipRanks)

Rosenberg added, “KREST delivers KKR’s differentiated global real estate capabilities across equity and debt investing in an attractive package, expanding the reach of our franchise with dedicated capital to pursue yielding stabilised real estate assets and mezzanine loans.”

At the end of March, KKR had $28 billion in real estate assets under management. It has seeded KREST with more than $150 million of its own funds.

Furthermore, in a first, KKR received exemptive relief from the SEC that allows it to receive its fees in the form of the fund’s shares. That will strongly align it with the interest of investors.

On May 5, Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Bedell reiterated a Hold rating on the stock and raised the price target to $60 (9.5% upside potential) from $52. Bedell favorably views KKR’s recent Q1 results.

Consensus among analysts is that KKR & Co. is a Moderate Buy based on 8 Buys and 3 Holds. The average analyst price target of $64 implies 16.8% upside potential.

Shares have gained about 111.8% over the past year.

Source: Yahoo Finance