With its worldwide market share rising to 40.8% in Q1 2010 from 18.3% in 1Q09, Europe has become the top destination as investors continue to avoid the US despite early signs of recovery there. The news comes despite negative macroeconomic news from some EU countries, said Swisslake. Yields in many European centres have reversed and rental prices are stabilising. Banks are also increasingly prepared to provide financing to support fund managers' activities.

However, with 55 new REPE funds, there were 17.9% fewer worldwide in 1Q10 than in 1Q09 and 35% fewer than in 4Q09. At $19.9bn, fund volume was 33.3% below 1Q09 and 38.3% below 4Q09, highlighting the current cautious environment. Swisslake reported that many funds from 2009 were only partially placed and were in essence blocking the pipeline for new issues.

The average fund size over the last four quarters ranged between $350 million and $400 million, and seemed to document the cautiousness of investors on side and the readiness on the other side of smaller more specialised fund managers to grow.