A decade of collaboration: INREV’s Global Initiatives celebrate 10 Years
This year marks a significant milestone for INREV’s Global Initiatives – a decade of collaboration, consistency, and commitment to raising the bar for transparency in non-listed real estate. It also coincides with the 10th anniversary of Constantin Sorlescu, INREV’s Director of Professional Standards, who has been a part of this initiative from its inception.
Reflecting on the journey, Constantin recalls the fragmented landscape of reporting standards across regions: “Back in 2014, investors struggled to compare data across markets. There was no common language.” The push for global investment demanded a unified approach, and INREV, ANREV, NCREIF, and PREA stepped up to meet that need.
This led to the major milestone in 2015, when the four associations formalised their partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop a global set of information reporting and disclosure standards. This governance framework laid the foundation for a coordinated approach, with each organisation bringing regional expertise and industry insight to the table.
Dan Dierking, President of NCREIF, stated, “Commercial real estate investing has become a truly global endeavour, and our success in launching and aligning international standards reflects the power of collaboration with our global partners to shape the industry's future.”
Zoe Hughes, CEO of PREA, says, “[We are] proud to have contributed to this collaboration, which strengthens our global industry’s integrity, efficiency, and ability to support long-term investor objectives.”
The initiative began with conversations among global players, including institutional investors, investment managers and representatives from Big Four accounting firms across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific, highlighting the need for comparable information. This led to the formation of the Global Standards Steering Committee and the launch of key task forces – notably on fee and expense metrics and definitions.
Charles Haase, CEO of ANREV, explains, “At ANREV, we understand well how global standards bring clarity and consistency to a complex industry. For real estate investors in Asia Pacific, these frameworks make it far easier to compare performance, evaluate managers, and allocate capital with confidence. Progress toward harmonisation has generally been slower in our region, given the diversity of our legal systems, regulatory environments, cultures, and business practices, but these factors make the effort that much more important. By actively promoting initiatives like the global DDQ, SSDS, and shared definitions and metrics, ANREV continually pushes for inter-regional alignment that ultimately benefits both investors and managers. Global standards are crucial for improving transparency and trust across markets, both within Asia Pacific and across the global institutional real estate landscape.”
One of the most impactful outcomes has been the creation of TGER (Total Global Expense Ratio), which enabled investors and managers to benchmark fees and costs consistently. “It delivered greater transparency for investors,” Constantin notes. “Managers also found they could use TGER internally to identify inefficiencies and improve operations.” Zoe added to this sentiment, sharing, “ As investors increasingly adopt Total Portfolio Approaches—assessing risk and performance holistically across asset classes—having shared definitions and structured data is essential. In an era shaped by AI and data-driven decision-making, the ability to compare and analyse real estate alongside other investments depends on these standards.”
Looking ahead, the associations continue to address industry trends early, with operational real estate and asset-level data taking centre stage. Constantin’s aspiration for the future? An integrated set of global standards, including one global NAV – a step he says would make the industry more attractive to global capital.
As the initiative enters its second decade, the foundation of trust and collaboration among global partners remains its greatest strength. “We’ve built something solid,” Constantin says. “Now, it’s about staying ahead and continuing to deliver value to the industry.”
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