Barriers to growth in the US real estate derivatives market

Thesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-106).Commercial real estate is an important asset class but it does not yet have a well-developed derivatives market in the United States. A derivative is a contract that derives its value from an underlying index or asset. Examples of the most well-known derivatives that have been widely used and traded for years are stock options, commodity futures and interest rate swaps. The advent of direct real estate equity derivative products has created the opportunity for similar applications in both the US and international commercial real estate markets. The United States is currently experiencing a convergence between real estate and finance and it appears that the real estate derivatives market might be ready to take off. The use of derivatives could improve the functioning of the real estate industry by allowing investors to gain or reduce exposure to the commercial real estate asset class without directly buying or selling properties. The increased liquidity and reduced up front capital requirements provide added flexibility in executing real estate investment strategies (i.e. speculating) and managing risk (i.e. hedging). This has resulted in significant interest in the development of commercial property derivatives by key players in all sectors. A number of barriers (e.g., indices, pricing, education, fund mandates, tax and accounting treatment) still exist that hinder the successful implementation and growth of real estate derivatives in the US commercial real estate market. It is crucial for the market to overcome these barriers in order to revolutionize the institutional world and allow investors to gain exposure to the real estate asset class and to hedge private real estate risk. This thesis analyzes these barriers to the development of a synthetic market that is on the brink of expanding.(cont.) The US real estate sector is an eight trillion dollar market composed of real estate assets which has been managed until recently without pointed focus on the property specific risk. The size of this market presents a vast opportunity for risk hedging, asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing in a more efficient manner through the use of derivatives.by Jani Venter.S.M.in Real Estate Developmen

An analysis of U.K. property funds classified according to U.S. styles: Core, value-added, and opportunistic

This analysis explores the feasibility of sorting UK funds into the three categories that are widely used in the US, and then compares the performance of these styles between the UK and US. Following an overview of several factors’ impact on the expected risk and return of a property fund, we use Loan-to-Value ratio (LTV) as the dominant factor in a preliminary style-classification, defining funds with no debt as core, funds with LTV lower than 40% as value-added, and funds with higher than 50% LTV ratios as opportunistic. Then the study makes some adjustments to this classification based on the observation of the funds’ attributes other than LTV, and the classification ends up with 19 core funds, 22 value-added funds and 21 opportunistic funds. After that, we find two major differences between the UK and US funds. First, the core approach represents a smaller portion of the UK funds than the US funds and the opposite is true for the value-added approach. One way to improve the feasibility of researchers comparing funds within these two countries is introducing a fourth style, core-plus. Second, the US opportunistic funds are better performing with similar leverage than their UK counterparts, while future studies would help draw more precise conclusions about the performance comparisons

Performance evaluation of the Pima™ point-of-care CD4 analyser using capillary blood sampling in field tests in South Africa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Point-of-care CD4 testing can provide immediate CD4 reporting at HIV-testing sites. This study evaluated performance of capillary blood sampling using the point-of-care Pima™ CD4 device in representative primary health care clinics doing HIV testing.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prior to testing, prescribed capillary-sampling and instrument training was undertaken by suppliers across all sites. Matching venous EDTA samples were drawn throughout for comparison to laboratory predicate methodology (PLG/CD4). In Phase I, Pima™ cartridges were pipette-filled with EDTA venous blood in the laboratory (N = 100). In Phase II (N = 77), Pima™ CD4 with capillary sampling was performed by a single operator in a hospital-based antenatal clinic. During subsequent field testing, Pima™ CD4 with capillary sampling was performed in primary health care clinics on HIV-positive patients by multiple attending nursing personnel in a rural clinic (Phase-IIIA, N = 96) and an inner-city clinic (Phase-IIIB, N = 139).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pima™ CD4 compared favourably to predicate/CD4 when cartridges were pipette-filled with venous blood (bias -17.3 ± STDev = 36.7 cells/mm³; precision-to-predicate %CV < 6%). Decreased precision of Pima™ CD4 to predicate/CD4 (varying from 17.6 to 28.8%SIM CV; mean bias = 37.9 ± STDev = 179.5 cells/mm³) was noted during field testing in the hospital antenatal clinic. In the rural clinic field-studies, unacceptable precision-to-predicate and positive bias was noted (mean 28.4%SIM CV; mean bias = +105.7 ± STDev = 225.4 cells/mm³). With additional proactive manufacturer support, reliable performance was noted in the subsequent inner-city clinic field study where acceptable precision-to-predicate (11%SIM CV) and less bias of Pima™ to predicate was shown (BA bias ~11 ± STDev = 69 cells/mm³).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Variable precision of Pima™ to predicate CD4 across study sites was attributable to variable capillary sampling. Poor precision was noted in the outlying primary health care clinic where the system is most likely to be used. Stringent attention to capillary blood collection technique is therefore imperative if technologies like Pima™ are used with capillary sampling at the POC. Pima™ CD4 analysis with venous blood was shown to be reproducible, but testing at the point of care exposes operators to biohazard risk related to uncapping vacutainer samples and pipetting of blood, and is best placed in smaller laboratories using established principles of Good Clinical Laboratory Practice. The development of capillary sampling quality control methods that assure reliable CD4 counts at the point of care are awaited.</p

Comparative genomics of the type VI secretion systems of Pantoea and Erwinia species reveals the presence of putative effector islands that may be translocated by the VgrG and Hcp proteins

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Type VI secretion apparatus is assembled by a conserved set of proteins encoded within a distinct locus. The putative effector proteins Hcp and VgrG are also encoded within these loci. We have identified numerous distinct Type VI secretion system (T6SS) loci in the genomes of several ecologically diverse <it>Pantoea </it>and <it>Erwinia </it>species and detected the presence of putative effector islands associated with the <it>hcp </it>and <it>vgrG </it>genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Between two and four T6SS loci occur among the <it>Pantoea </it>and <it>Erwinia </it>species. While two of the loci (T6SS-1 and T6SS-2) are well conserved among the various strains, the third (T6SS-3) locus is not universally distributed. Additional orthologous loci are present in <it>Pantoea </it>sp. aB-valens and <it>Erwinia billingiae </it>Eb661. Comparative analysis of the T6SS-1 and T6SS-3 loci showed non-conserved islands associated with the <it>vgrG </it>and <it>hcp</it>, and <it>vgrG </it>genes, respectively. These regions had a G+C content far lower than the conserved portions of the loci. Many of the proteins encoded within the <it>hcp </it>and <it>vgrG </it>islands carry conserved domains, which suggests they may serve as effector proteins for the T6SS. A number of the proteins also show homology to the C-terminal extensions of evolved VgrG proteins.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Extensive diversity was observed in the number and content of the T6SS loci among the <it>Pantoea </it>and <it>Erwinia </it>species. Genomic islands could be observed within some of T6SS loci, which are associated with the <it>hcp </it>and <it>vgrG </it>proteins and carry putative effector domain proteins. We propose new hypotheses concerning a role for these islands in the acquisition of T6SS effectors and the development of novel evolved VgrG and Hcp proteins.</p

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

International audienceOn 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg(2) at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta