Equity Trustees appointed RE for US Student Housing REIT

8 March 2022

Equity Trustees has been appointed Responsible Entity (RE) to the first public market offering from Auctus Investment Group Limited (ASX:AVC), a US student housing real estate investment trust (REIT).

The US Student Housing REIT (ASX:USQ) will focus on investing in off-campus US student housing adjacent to large top-tier US public universities with the aim of generating long term, reliable returns. It will own 9 properties worth $US136m with portfolio occupancy of 96 per cent.

Auctus is a global investment manager with a focus on investment opportunities across private equity, infrastructure and private real estate.

Russell Beasley, Executive General Manager, Corporate Trustee Services, Equity Trustees said “We’re delighted to be working with Auctus to enable the offer of its unique US student housing REIT to investors in Australia”.

“As the market leading provider of RE service in Australia, this REIT is yet another example of the diversity of investment fund types being offered to Australian investors. When such varied funds are being brought to market, it makes sense that fund managers look to a specialist professional RE which has experience and capability across all types of funds governance,” Mr Beasley explained.

Auctus Managing Director, Campbell McComb, said “Working with Equity Trustees means we benefit from their decades of experience as a trustee and RE in the Australian financial industry and can also draw on their global experience”.

“This REIT is the only Australian-listed property trust with a primary strategy in investing in US student housing. It is focused on seeking to achieve long-term returns through a combination of income through rental yields along with potential long-term capital growth” said Mr McComb.