CRE Derivatives Group Formed

A new industry alliance has been formed to offer information on the use of derivative products based on U.S. commercial property. Called the Real Estate Derivatives Special Interest Group, the organization has established an advisory group that includes institutional investors, portfolio managers, index providers, academics, tax advisers, banks, and brokers. "The U.S. commercial real estate market is estimated to be in excess of $6 trillion -- and is the only major asset class not currently supported by a robust derivative market," said Phil Barker, senior vice president of CBRE/GFI and the vice-chair of RED-SIG. ".... RED-SIG aims to provide easy, free access to useful and important information for any investor considering real estate derivatives in their portfolio." The group can be found on the Web at http://www.red-sig.org.