Investors Looking Overseas for High Returns

CHICAGO- “It’s an amazing time to be thinking about investing,” Jeffrey A. Barclay, the managing director of Goldman Sachs, told an afternoon session earlier this week at DLA Piper’s 2013 Global Real Estate Summit, considering how much cross-border real estate investment has driven much of the deal activity around the world.

“Cross-border [investment] to us is human nature,” said David D. Arthur, the managing partner of North America Real Estate Investments at Brookfield Asset Management. He estimates that they have 60% of their investments in the U.S., 10% in Europe, 10% in Canada, 15% in Australia and 5% in Brazil. “I think that global investment is here to stay,” he added, and that Brazil, especially, with its rapidly expanding middle-class is “where the opportunity is.” As reported in GlobeSt.com on Monday, DLA Piper conducted a survey of nearly 200 high-ranking real estate professionals and Brazil edged out China and Australia as their top choice for foreign investment.