UK- Despite weak economic conditions and tumbling equity shares in Europe, real estate investment remains favourable, according to a report from LaSalle Investment Management.

Institutional investors have always been aware of the benefits of including real estate in a mixed-asset portfolio. Jeff Jacobson, chief executive officer Europe for LaSalle, says “The case for adding real estate to a mixed asset portfolio has never been stronger.”

The report says real estate in the UK and continental Europe has held up well in the face of weak economic conditions and volatile stock markets. “UK direct property has now produced better returns than equities in 10 of the last 11 quarters an, though hard market data are not available in other main European markets, the same is almost certainly true for them,” says Robin Goodchild, European director at LaSalle.

The report also lists the benefits of real estate, including: solid risk-adjusted returns, low correlation with other asset classes, good asset-liability match for pension plans and insurance companies, and diverse investment alternatives and risk-return options.

LaSalle Investment Management is a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle Group, which manages $23.3bln of public and private assets.