ESR Maintains Lead in APAC Real Estate AUM as Global Total Drops 8.2%

Global real estate assets overseen by a sample of fund managers stood at $3.8 trillion at the end of 2024, down 8.2 percent from the prior year and marking a third straight year of decline from the historic peak of $4.7 trillion reached in 2021, according to data compiled by non-profits serving the property investor community.

Despite the overall decline, AUM held by the top 10 fund managers by size reached nearly $2 trillion, averaging $197 billion per manager, the Fund Manager Survey 2025 revealed. Those 10 represented 52 percent of global real estate AUM, up from 51 percent in 2023, showing a further concentration of assets looked after by the largest managers.

The study by the Asian Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (ANREV), its European counterpart INREV and Chicago-based fiduciary association NCREIF is based on a poll of 114 fund managers who provided information directly to the non-profit groups.

“Despite a challenging year marked by market uncertainty and reduced capital raising, the top 10 fund managers still maintain their market share with more than half of the total real estate AUM,” said ANREV CEO Charles Haase. “This secular trend of capital concentration among the largest managers may suggest bigger is better — or at least preferred — especially in the current uncertain market environment.”

Familiar Champ

In Asia Pacific, Hong Kong-listed ESR ranked first in AUM for a second year running, followed by Singapore-based players GLP and CapitaLand Investment. Aussie firm Charter Hall and Singapore’s Mapletree Investments rounded out the region’s top five.

The ranking of the top five managers globally saw a slight reshuffle as Blackstone, Brookfield, Prologis and MetLife Investment Management retained their positions as the top four, while PGIM Real Estate entered the top five to replace UBS Asset Management.

In addition to the global top spot, Blackstone ranked first in Europe and North America and sixth in APAC AUM, the survey said. GLP entered the global top 10 for the first time, ranking 10th and joining ESR as the second APAC-based manager in the worldwide top 10.

Non-listed real estate vehicles — including funds, separate accounts, joint ventures, club deals, funds of funds and debt products — represented the largest share of real estate AUM at 83 percent ($3 trillion). Non-listed real estate funds continued to be the largest non-listed product by AUM globally, accounting for 57 percent ($1.7 trillion) of total non-listed real estate AUM.

Dry Powder Drawdown

Pension funds were the source of 42 percent of the capital invested in non-listed direct real estate, followed by insurance companies (19 percent) and sovereign wealth funds (13 percent).

Dry powder stood at $202 billion at the end of 2024, down from $246 billion a year earlier and representing 7 percent of global fund manager AUM.

“This decline suggests managers are starting to deploy committed capital amid a weak fundraising environment,” the survey said.