Kames Capital adds co-manager to Active Value Open Ended Fund

Kames Capital has appointed John Dear as co-manager of its Active Value Property Fund (open ended). In his new role, Dear will work alongside the fund’s existing co-manager Helen Batten and report into David Wise, investment director at Kames.
Launched in 2009, the Kames Active Value Property Fund (open ended) targets a specific niche in the property market which is typically overlooked; properties valued between £2m and £10m. These properties tend to be too big for individual investors and too small for large institutional investors. The Fund’s objective is to deliver performance of 0.5% per annum above the IPD/Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) All Balanced Property Funds Index on a rolling three year basis.
Dear has worked within the property investment team at Kames Capital since February 2011, most recently as an assistant fund manager, working on the Kames Property Income Fund since its launch in March 2014. He joined Kames from commercial property and real estate services adviser CBRE where he was an Associate Director in the Hotels Capital Markets team. Dear began his career at CBRE as a commercial property graduate surveyor, before becoming a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2007.
Commenting on the appointment, David Wise said: “The UK commercial property market continues to offer attractive opportunities for investors seeking higher yields, particularly in smaller lot sizes. Tenant demand for such properties also continues to improve, helped by increased occupier confidence. John’s knowledge and experience of the area means we will be able to continue to maximise these opportunities and we are delighted to have appointed him to the role.”