The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a close look at the limitations on investor withdrawals that were imposed by non-traded real estate income trusts Blackstone and Starwood in response to a November surge in redemption requests.

According to a report in Bloomberg, the SEC has reached out to both companies for more details about the circumstances surrounding the redemption limits and how they were applied, specifically asking them if affiliates got redemptions before clients.

Quoting "people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified," Bloomberg's report said the SEC "is trying to understand the market impact and circumstances of the events and asked how the firms met redemptions and if affiliates sold before clients."