Cross-Border Seminar: Real Assets Investment Opportunities

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific. Under her leadership, APREA repositioned to an industry trade group focusing on real estate and infrastructure.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019.

Prior to APREA, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) from 2010 through 2018, where she was responsible for research, thought leadership, strategy formulation and client management.  Before relocating to Singapore, she was based in Washington, D.C. and led C&W’s U.S. research group in the Mid-Atlantic region, overseeing all aspects of market research activities in the Washington, DC; Virginia; Suburban Maryland, Baltimore; and Philadelphia areas. Prior to joining C&W, Sigrid served as a Senior Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that position, she developed NAR’s office, warehouse, retail, multi-family housing, and international research programs.

A recognized expert in global economic, public policy and real estate issues, Sigrid is a frequent speaker at industry events.  Her commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets is also regularly featured in a wide array of global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reuters. Additionally, she has made several television appearances on financial networks and radio such as CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, National Public Radio and Channel News Asia.

Sigrid holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of several civic groups including the Rotary Club of Raffles City in Singapore, where she has served in various leadership positions, and serves in the Executive Committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Society of Singapore.

Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy is a Board member of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA). It is the industry body for the suppliers and users of capital in the real estate sector. He served as the founding Chairman of the Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA), from 2010-2015, an organization he helped set up in 2010 to give Malaysian REIT Managers a single voice for the purpose of engagement with the Regulators and Ministry of Finance.

Dato LaBrooy has been writing on a regular basis on Property and REITs for the local mainstream print and online media for the past five years or so, and is known and recognised as the “REIT Guru” in the country. He is also a prominent speaker on the subject of Industrial Estate Development and Conventional and Islamic REITs in the region, having been invited to deliver papers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, New York, London, Saudi Arabia, Philippines and Malaysia.

He was appointed Executive Director of Axis REIT on 22 March 2005 and Chief Executive Office (“CEO”) of Axis REIT since August 2008. Axis REIT was the first REIT to be listed in Malaysia and the first Shariah-compliant industrial REIT in the world. Under his leadership, Axis REIT has won several awards, among them, the APREA Best Practices Award in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Axis REIT has provided its investors with total average returns in excess of 25% over the 10 years he helmed the business and still trades today at a 30% premium to NAV. In 2017 Dato’ LaBrooy formed the world’s first unlisted Shariah compliant Education Asset based REIT- Alpha REIT ,which has a planned listing in 2022. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy is the Executive Chairman of AREA Management Sdn. Bhd. a subsidiary of AREA Advisors Pte Ltd (AREA) an appointment he has taken since his retirement as CEO and Executive Director of Axis REIT Managers Bhd (ARMB) on 31 December 2015. With a career spanning over 40 years in the industrial space, he has spent well over a decade since 2005 in heading Axis REIT and establishing REITs as an important component of the capital markets. Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy is also a director of a number of public and private companies involved in property development, services and property investment.

Since its inception, AREA was established as a boutique advisory firm providing advice on investing in industrial properties in Malaysia, UK, Australia and Germany. AREA has decided to expand its advisory role to include funds management. It has since set up a company that will undertake the investment management activities (the AREA Industrial Development Fund 1 (AIDF 1) and AREA Management Sdn Bhd (AMSB) was set up to undertake the management of the projects of the fund in Malaysia. AREA Advisors Pte Ltd was re-designated as the Funds management company. In November 2015 AIDF 1 launched its first maiden project a 1,200,000 sq. ft. e-commerce hub in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy is also a director of a number of public and private companies involved in property development, services and property investment.