CenterSquare Investment Management is a global investment manager headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Plymouth Meeting. The firm is focused on providing real estate and infrastructure management services to institutional and private investors.
The firm's team of financial advisors holds multiple certifications, including three chartered financial analysts (CFAs) and one chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA).
CenterSquare Investment Management Background
CenterSquare Investment Management was founded in 1987. Until recently, the firm was a subsidiary of BNY Mellon Investment Management. In January 2018, BNY Mellon completed the sale of CenterSquare to private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners and CenterSquare's management team.
When it was founded, the firm was focused on providing direct real estate investment management services to institutional investors. It's since expanded its offerings to include U.S. and global listed real estate and global listed infrastructure management services.
CenterSquare Investment Management Types and Minimum Account Sizes
CenterSquare works with institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. Its institutional clients include:
- Investment companies
- Pooled investment vehicles
- Pension and profit sharing plans
- Charitable organizations
- Government entities
CenterSquare’s account minimums vary by strategy and investment vehicle. The firm imposes a $1 million minimum for pooled investment vehicles, $5 million for U.S. Real Estate Securities and $10 million for Global Real Estate Securities.
Services Offered by CenterSquare Investment Management
CenterSquare provides investment advisory services through both separate accounts and pooled investment vehicles. The firm is focused on actively managed real asset investment strategies, including listed real estate, private equity real estate and listed infrastructure.
CenterSquare Investment Management Investment Philosophy
CenterSquare’s investment approach is centered on the active management of real assets. Its portfolios are comprised of publicly traded real estate equity securities and publicly traded infrastructure equity securities. The firm says that it invests "substantially" in these asset classes and typically holds less than 5% in cash.
CenterSquare generally uses long-only investment strategies, and it lists the following as its primary strategies:
- U.S. real estate securities
- Global real estate securities
- Global ex-U.S. real estate securities
- Global infrastructure securities
The firm says that it employs the same investment approach across all of its strategies. This approach is comprised of three main parts: top-down research, bottom-up research and risk management. Top-down research analyzes the overall economy to evaluate investment opportunities, while bottom-up research zeroes in on a specific stock's potential value. The third part of its investment approach is focused on finding a balance between risk and return, which CenterSquare does by monitoring exposures across several measures.
Fees Under CenterSquare Investment Management
CenterSquare typically charges clients fees based on a percentage of assets under management. Although these fees are annualized, clients will be charged on a quarterly basis in arrears. The firm charges the following fee rates for its primary separate account strategies:
| Assets | U.S. Fee Rate | Global / Global Ex-U.S. Fee Rate |
| First $10 million | 0.70% | 0.75% |
| Next $40 million | 0.65% | 0.75% |
| Next $50 million | 0.55% | 0.65% |
| In excess of $100 million | 0.50% | 0.60% |
For its private funds, CenterSquare charges the following annual rates:
| Assets | Fee Rate |
| First $10 million | 0.75% |
| Next $40 million | 0.75% |
| Next $50 million | 0.65% |
| In excess of $100 million | 0.60% |
In addition to these asset-based fees, CenterSquare may also charge certain qualified clients performance-based fees. These fees are only collected if a portfolio outperforms predetermined benchmarks within a certain period of time.
What to Watch Out For
Neither CenterSquare Investment Management nor its employees have faced any disciplinary issues in the last 10 years.
The firm’s services aren't accessible nor necessarily appropriate for the average investor, as the firm has high account minimums and a specialized focus on actively managed real estate and infrastructure strategies.
Prospective and current clients should also note that CenterSquare has a number of potential conflicts of interest. Certain employees on the firm's sales and client services team are registered representative of its affiliate, registered broker-dealer Foreside Fund Services. Foreside also provides compliance consulting services to CenterSquare. While CenterSquare won't necessarily receive additional compensation as a result of this affiliation, the firm that controls both CenterSquare and Foreside, Lovell Minnick Partners, may benefit. In addition to its ties to Foreside, CenterSquare's general counsel and deputy general counsel own a law firm and the firm may serve CenterSquare's clients.
The final thing to watch out for is the fact that CenterSquare may charge performance-based fees to select qualified clients. In certain instances, these fees are earned in addition to asset-based fees when a portfolio's performance exceeds a designated benchmark within a certain period of time. Performance-based fees have a mixed reputation in the industry because they can incentivize advisors to take higher risks to boost portfolio performance.
Opening an Account With CenterSquare Investment Management
For more information about the firm and its services, you can reach CenterSquare at (610) 834-9500. CenterSquare also provides more direct lines of contact on its website's Contact Us page. There you can find email addresses and phone numbers for the appropriate contact for institutional investors, financial intermediaries and individual investors and private equity real estate acquisitions on the West Coast and East Coast.
Should you decide to work with CenterSquare, the firm requires each of its clients to sign a written investment agreement. This agreement grants the firm the authority to manage a client’s assets and also outlines the fees they'll be subject to.
CenterSquare has its headquarters in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. It has affiliated offices in Los Angeles, London and Singapore.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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