Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund Delivers a 2.57% Fourth Quarter Return and Bullish Outlook for 2021
New York, NY (January 27, 2020) – Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund (“TI+”, “Fund” tickers: TIPRX, TIPPX, TIPWX, TIPLX) is pleased to announce a fourth quarter total return of 2.57% for the Fund’s institutional share class (TIPRX: I-share) and delivered its eighth consecutive year of positive total returns to shareholders. In addition, the Fund paid its 32nd consecutive quarterly distribution on December 14, 2020 at the annual distribution rate of 5.25%*. Distributions to Class A shareholders to-date have totaled $11.47 per share vs. the current share price of $29.24 (TIPRX: A-share, 12.31.2020).
“In a challenging year plagued by the global health pandemic and a steep recession, the Fund delivered its goals of positive returns with high income and low volatility,” said Jeffrey Schwaber, CEO of Bluerock Capital Markets. “The Fund demonstrated its ability to deliver low volatility with minimal drawdowns even in the depth of the downturn¹ which validates its ability to serve as a building block in creating an efficient diversified portfolio for the investor. This marks 30 of 33 quarters of positive returns for the Fund primarily invested in an asset class that has 39 of 43 positive years since its inception with an average unleveraged annualized return of approximately 9%. We believe Institutional Private Equity Real Estate (iPERE) is an integral, non-correlated and low volatility component of a well-diversified portfolio, and should be a holding for life”, added Schwaber.
“This performance is a result of our multi-year strategic plan to tactically overweight real estate sectors that are driven by long term, macro trends such as e-commerce, demographic shifts, and science and technology forces, noted Adam Lotterman, Co-Founder of the Fund Advisor and Sr. Portfolio Manager. “Specific sector overweighting included industrial, life science, multifamily and real estate debt which delivered strong outperformance in 2020 while the Fund had significantly reduced its exposure to 2020’s weaker performing sectors such as office, retail and hotel”, added Lotterman.
As of the end of the fourth quarter, the Fund reported gross asset value of the underlying portfolio of nearly $220 billion which was comprised of 4,300+ primarily core, high occupancy, institutional-quality real estate holdings with strategic sector weightings as follows: 35% industrial, 33% apartment, 14% specialty (including life science, medical office, and self-storage), 13% office and 5% retail². Approximately 95% of the Fund’s allocation was to sectors with positive performance.
The Bluerock team is bullish on institutional private real estate for 2021 as the economy is widely expected to further recover throughout the year prompted by a successful development and rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine that we believe will lead to lower unemployment levels. A strengthening economy combined with a low interest rate environment have historically bolstered real estate performance.
1 2020 Standard Deviations; TIPRX: 1.4%, S&P 500: 41.5%, MSCI U.S. REIT Index: 53.1%, Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index: 5.7%; 2020 Maximum Drawdowns: TIPRX: -2.6%, S&P 500: -33.8%, MSCI U.S. REIT Index: -44.0%, Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index: -6.3%.
2 For detailed Fund holdings, please visit https://bluerockfunds.com/investment-holdings/
TI+ Fund Class A and I Net Performance
Returns presented are total net return: Expressed in percentage terms, the calculation of total return is determined by taking the change in price, reinvesting, if applicable, all income and capital gains distributions during the period, and dividing by the starting price. Returns greater than one year are annualized.
3 Inception date of the TI+ Fund Class A share is October 22, 2012 and Class I share is April 1, 2014.
4 The maximum sales charge for the Class A shares is 5.75%. Investors may be eligible for a waiver or a reduction in the sales charge.
The performance data quoted here represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. For performance information current to the most recent month end, please call toll-free 1-888-459-1059. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The total annual fund operating expense ratio, gross of any fee waivers or expense reimbursements, is 2.21% for Class A and 1.96% for Class I. The Fund’s investment advisor has contractually agreed to reduce its fees and/or absorb expenses of the fund, at least until January 31, 2021 for Class A and I shares, to ensure that the net annual fund operating expenses will not exceed 1.95% for Class A and 1.70% for Class I, per annum of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class A and Class I shares, respectively, subject to possible recoupment from the Fund in future years. Please review the Fund’s Prospectus for more detail on the expense waiver. A fund’s performance, especially for very short periods of time, should not be the sole factor in making your investment decisions. Fund performance and distributions are presented net of fees.
The Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund is a closed-end interval fund that invests the majority of its assets in institutional private equity real estate securities that are generally available only to institutional investors capable of meeting the multi-million dollar minimum investment criteria. As of Q4 2020, the value of the underlying real estate held by the securities in which the Fund is invested is approximately $220 billion, including investments managed by Ares, Blackstone, Morgan Stanley, Principal, PGIM, Clarion Partners, Invesco and RREEF, among others. The minimum investment in the Fund is $2,500 ($1,000 for retirement plans) for Class A, C, and L shares.
For copies of TI+ public company filings, please visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at sec.gov or the Company’s website at bluerockfunds.com.
About Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund
The Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund offers individual investors access to a portfolio of institutional real estate securities managed by top-ranked fund managers. The Fund seeks to provide a comprehensive real estate holding designed to provide a combination of current income, capital preservation, long-term capital appreciation and enhanced portfolio diversification with low to moderate volatility and low correlation to the broader equity and fixed income markets. The Fund utilizes an exclusive partnership with Mercer Investment Management, Inc., the world’s leading advisor to endowments, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices globally, with over 3,300 clients worldwide, and over $15.0 trillion in assets under advisement.
Investing in the Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund involves risks, including the loss of principal. The Fund intends to make investments in multiple real estate securities that may subject the Fund to additional fees and expenses, including management and performance fees, which could negatively affect returns and could expose the Fund to additional risk, including lack of control, as further described in the prospectus.
* The Fund’s distribution policy is to make quarterly distributions to shareholders. The level of quarterly distributions (including any return of capital) is not fixed and this distribution policy is subject to change. Shareholders should not assume that the source of a distribution from the Fund is net profit. All or a portion of the distributions consist of a return of capital based on the character of the distributions received from the underlying holdings, primarily Real Estate Investment Trusts. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions will be made after the end of each year. Shareholders should note that return of capital will reduce the tax basis of their shares and potentially increase the taxable gain, if any, upon disposition of their shares. There is no assurance that the Company will continue to declare distributions or that they will continue at these rates. There can be no assurance that any investment will be effective in achieving the Fund’s investment objectives, delivering positive returns or avoiding losses.
Limited liquidity is provided to shareholders only through the Fund’s quarterly repurchase offers for no less than 5% of the Fund’s shares outstanding at net asset value. There is no guarantee that shareholders will be able to sell all of the shares they desire in a quarterly repurchase offer. Quarterly repurchases by the Fund of its shares typically will be funded from available cash or sales of portfolio securities. The sale of securities to fund repurchases could reduce the market price of those securities, which in turn would reduce the Fund’s net asset value.
Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund. This and other important information about the Fund is contained in the prospectus, which can be obtained online at bluerockfunds.com. The Bluerock Total Income+ Real Estate Fund is distributed by ALPS, Inc. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Bluerock Fund Advisor, LLC is not affiliated with ALPS, Inc.