GOING HAWAII

American Properties Fund Sponsors Pension Conference

Los Angeles (PRWEB) May 21, 2009 -- As part of the Investor Conference Series, American Properties Fund recently sponsored the Pension Fund Conference in Honolulu Hawaii. In attendance were Hawaii real estate investors, pension fund administrators and plan sponsors. The keynote speaker was Michael Hicks, CEO of Hicks Pension Group.

The conference covered updated compliance and fiduciary regulations of plan sponsors and alternative investments such as real estate. According to Mr Hicks "due to the recent performance in the common investments of stocks, bonds and mutual funds there is great interest in the alternative investments including real estate. There are risks associated with the alternative investments and the plan sponsors have a responsibility to perform detailed due diligence".

The many benefits of pension funds include tax deferment, limited protection from creditors, retirement planning and incentives to attract and maintain quality employees. Hicks explains "pension funds are certainly a good vehicle for retirement planning and when coupled with the advantages of tax planning and employee retention the structures are part of any successful business."

Discussing some of the fiduciary duties covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Hicks highlighted the Exclusive Benefit Rule, Prudent Man Rule, Plan Conformity Rule and the Diversification Rule. "A good rule of thumb regarding the Diversification Rule is to have no more than 20% of the pension fund in one asset for risk mitigation. It is the duty of the plan sponsor to ensure the safety of the funds" according to Hicks.

Traditionally real estate has been one of the best components for fund diversity. Discussing examples of real estate investments was the co-founder and Managing Director of American Properties Fund Patrick ONeill. "I agree that diversity is important but safety of capital is even more important. Our firm's focus on distressed real estate in the US is not unique. What is unique is that we are acquiring our properties without leverage. This low risk profile is ideal for pension fund placement. Most funds use some leverage to increase internal rates of return but in today's climate safety of principal must be the primary focus." says ONeill.

According to ONeill the typical price discounts in the distressed US markets are 60% to 70%. "In March 2008, 18% of all existing single family home sales in the US were classified as distressed sales. That is nearly one in every five, a tremendous amount. Last month that figure jumped to 53%. This is the first time ever that the figure has reached over fifty percent. This is fueling the significant discounts. I have never seen the types of opportunities available right now" states ONeill.

American Properties Fund is sponsoring a series of investment conferences in the United States and Asia. For details of future events contact American Properties Fund at www.ampfund.com. The Hicks Pension Group formed in 1968 provides administrative compliance services to pension plan sponsors with six offices in California and Hawaii. American Properties Fund is a real estate investment firm focused on distressed US real estate.

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