Quay Global Investors

What Quay Global Investors does

Quay Global Investors is a Sydney-based boutique asset manager specializing in global listed real estate securities, founded in 2013 by Justin Blaess and Chris Bedingfield as Quay Real Estate Advisors. Since May 2015 it has operated as a boutique partner within Bennelong Funds Management, retaining full investment autonomy while leveraging Bennelong's distribution, compliance, and back-office infrastructure. The firm manages two strategies — the Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged) and the Quay Global Real Estate Fund (AUD Hedged) — each constructed as a concentrated portfolio of 20 to 40 REITs and property operating companies selected for the quality and sustainability of rental income across global markets, including healthcare, student housing, residential rental, and self-storage sectors that are under-represented in Australia. In November 2025 both strategies were converted to ASX Active ETFs under tickers QGRU and QGFH, adding intraday liquidity and broker-distributed retail access to the existing wrap-platform and direct-channel reach.

Quay's revenue model is a standard active asset management structure: an annual management fee of 0.88% p.a. on the Unhedged fund and 0.92% p.a. on the Hedged fund (both inclusive of GST net of reduced input tax credits), combined with a performance fee of 15.375% on returns above the higher of Australian CPI and the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index (denominated in AUD). Distribution spans institutional mandates (relationship-led, supported by Bennelong's institutional distribution team), financial advisers (via seven major wrap platforms including BT Panorama, Hub24, Netwealth, and CFS FirstChoice), and personal investors (via ASX Active ETFs and direct applications through Bennelong's unit registry with a $20,000 minimum). Since the flagship fund's launch in July 2014, the Unhedged strategy has returned 10.05% p.a. through September 2024, outperforming the FTSE/EPRA NAREIT Developed Index by 2.10% p.a., and has earned four consecutive Money Management Fund Manager of the Year awards in the Global Property Securities category (2018–2021).

Name

Quay Global Investors

Legal name

Quay Global Investors (ABN 98 163 911 859) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Bennelong Funds Management Limited (ABN 39 111 214 085, AFSL 296806)

Website

https://quaygi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Quay Global Investors is a Sydney-based boutique asset manager operating within the Bennelong Funds Management group, managing two ASX Active ETFs (QGRU, QGFH) that invest in concentrated portfolios of 20–40 global listed real estate securities for Australian institutional, financial adviser, and retail investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Listed Real Estate Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Investment Advisory (Acquisitions/Dispositions, Capital Allocation) (BPAJANAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Portfolio Construction & Asset Allocation Advisory (FSAEAAAC)

Keywords

• Global real estate investing
• Listed property securities
• REIT fund management
• Real estate active ETFs
• Institutional asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: The firm charges an annual management fee of 0.88% p.a. (including GST net of reduced input tax credits) of the Net Asset Value for the Unhedged Fund and 0.92% p.a. for the Hedged Fund. Fees consist of the annual management fee rate and capped recoverable expenses.
2. Performance Fees: A performance fee of 15.375% is charged on any amount by which the investment return of the Fund (after the payment of the Management Fee and expenses but adding back any distributions during the relevant half-year period) is above the higher of the CPI and the return generated by the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index, denominated in Australian dollars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Quay Global Investors is a boutique asset manager that invests in global listed real estate securities, primarily REITs and property operating companies, focused on rent-producing assets with sustainable and growing income. It manages two currency-hedged variants of its flagship fund — the Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged) Active ETF (ASX: QGRU) and the Quay Global Real Estate Fund (AUD Hedged) Active ETF (ASX: QGFH) — distributed via ASX, wrap platforms, and direct institutional mandates under the Bennelong Funds Management group.

Product overview

Quay Global Investors offers two currency-hedged variants of their flagship global real estate fund as ASX active ETFs: the unhedged Quay Global Real Estate Fund (QRI), launched in November 2017, and the AUD-Hedged version (QRIF), launched in February 2022. Both funds provide institutional-quality exposure to global REIT markets with a value-oriented, absolute-return investment approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged) Active ETF: ASX-listed Active ETF (ticker: QGRU) investing in global listed real estate securities without currency hedging. Prior to Nov 2025, was known as Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged).
• Quay Global Real Estate Fund (AUD Hedged) Active ETF

Products and services

• Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged) Active ETF An ASX-listed Active ETF (ticker QGRU) providing unhedged exposure to a globally diversified portfolio of 20 to 40 real estate investment trusts (REITs) and property operating companies across multiple geographies. Targets real total returns of at least 5% above CPI per annum over five or more years, with management fee of 0.88% p.a. and 15.375% performance fee above the higher of CPI and the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index. Available to retail investors via ASX, financial advisers via major wrap platforms, and institutional investors via Bennelong.
• Quay Global Real Estate Fund (AUD Hedged) Active ETF An ASX-listed Active ETF (ticker QGFH) providing currency-hedged exposure to the same globally diversified portfolio of 20 to 40 REITs and property operating companies as the Unhedged fund, with foreign exchange exposure hedged back to Australian dollars. Management fee of 0.92% p.a. and same 15.375% performance fee structure. Available via the same channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10.05% per annum since inception (July 2014 to September 2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bennelong Funds ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2015Bennelong and Quay launched a joint initiative in May 2015, with Quay becoming a Bennelong boutique. Bennelong provides back-office support, distribution capabilities, and operational infrastructure while Quay maintains investment autonomy. This partnership enabled Quay to access Bennelong's extensive distribution network and expertise while focusing on portfolio management. The arrangement provides Bennelong with global real estate investment capabilities as part of its multi-boutique model.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Centuria Capital Group: Australian real estate fund manager with listed real estate and unlisted property offerings; comparable as an APAC real estate investment specialist though broader and unlisted-property-heavy.
• Cromwell Property Group: Australian real estate investment manager with direct property and listed securities offerings; comparable in APAC real estate focus but primarily direct property rather than listed REIT specialism.

Broad incumbents

• Pinnacle Investment Management: ASX-listed Australian multi-boutique asset manager that hosts affiliated specialist managers; structurally analogous to Bennelong's multi-boutique platform housing Quay.
• Magellan Asset Management: Large Australian active global equities manager; comparable as an Australian boutique asset manager with global thematic strategies distributed through platforms and ETFs, though broader than REIT focus.
• Brookfield Asset Management: Global real assets and real estate manager with listed REIT strategies; a much larger incumbent competing for institutional global property securities allocations.
• Heitman: Large global real estate investment manager covering listed and private real estate strategies; broader product set than Quay but directly comparable in the listed REIT mandate space.

Direct peers

• Cohen & Steers: US-listed specialist in global listed real estate securities and real assets with a long-tenured concentrated REIT strategy; the closest international comparable in product and philosophy.
• Resolution Capital: Australian boutique specialising in global listed real estate securities with a concentrated, income-focused strategy directly comparable to Quay's Global Real Estate Fund.

Emerging players

• Antipodes Partners: Sydney-based boutique offering a global equities strategy with concentrated, absolute-return orientation; comparable in boutique structure and APAC platform distribution rather than real estate focus.
• Ironbark Asset Management: Australian boutique asset manager offering specialist real estate and income strategies; comparable in boutique scale and APAC distribution model though not exclusively a REIT manager.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quay Global Investors