Counsel Wealth Management today announced the inclusion of global real estate securities as a new asset class in Counsel Regular Pay Portfolio.

By investing in global real estate securities and further diversifying the Portfolio, investors will be able to participate in an additional income source. Given the relatively low correlation between global real estate and other asset classes, coupled with its consistent income stream, this new asset class will allow investors to enjoy more stable returns over the long-term.

Counsel also announced the appointment of Citi Property Investors (Citi), a division of Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC, to manage the global real estate component of Counsel Regular Pay Portfolio. “Citi was selected after conducting a rigorous due diligence exercise to identify the ideal manager for the component,” says Sam Febbraro, Counsel’s President and CEO. “Citi’s global presence and strong on-the-ground knowledge of local markets give them the ability to thoroughly research and understand local real estate market risks and developments, making it a strong partner for Counsel investors”, adds Febbraro. Global real estate is targeted to account for up to 10% of Counsel Regular Pay Portfolio.

Simultaneously, Counsel has also introduced an international component to Counsel Regular Pay Portfolio. For this international component, Counsel will invest in Mawer World Investment Fund, an international growth mandate and Brandes International Equity Fund, an international value mandate. Mawer and Brandes are long-standing Counsel partners and currently benefit the international component of several other Counsel Funds and Portfolios.

“Citi, Mawer and Brandes are valuable additions to the existing investment team on Counsel Regular Pay Portfolio,” Febbraro says. The current investment team is RBC Asset Management Inc., Acuity Investment Management Inc., Dreman Value Management, LLC and Marsico Capital Management, LLC. The addition of Citi, Mawer and Brandes will contribute positively towards increasing the management style diversity and asset class diversity of the Portfolio.

In addition, to allow for the potential to increase the geographic diversity of Counsel Conservative Portfolio, and to capitalize on the elimination of the foreign content limit, Counsel has increased the foreign content limit for the Portfolio so that it may invest its assets directly through underlying mutual funds in foreign securities.

Toronto-based Counsel Wealth Management is a wholly owned investment management firm of Investment Planning Counsel Inc., and manages approximately $2.3 billion in total assets.