Last checked at 
* Columbia Threadneedle fund to reopen on Sept. 17
* St James's Place funds to reopen on Sept. 10
* Aegon, Aberdeen Standard, Janus Henderson, M&G not
reopening yet
* Aviva, Royal London monitoring situation
(Adds St James's Place, Royal London)
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Fund managers Columbia
Threadneedle and St James's Place said on Wednesday they
would reopen their suspended UK property funds after British
surveyors said they no longer saw any "material uncertainty" in
real estate valuations, which was a major barrier to reopening.
Real estate funds aimed at retail investors, totalling more
than $8 billion, were suspended in March after surveyors said it
was not possible to be sure about valuations due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Institutional funds quickly followed suit in the UK
property fund sector, which is worth 70 billion pounds ($91
billion) overall.
Rules governing property funds meant they should consider
suspending in circumstances where surveyors issued such a
warning, the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) told its
members in March.
On Wednesday, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
said its forum on the issue "recommends a general lifting of
material valuation uncertainty", pointing to the easing of many
restrictions imposed on households and businesses as a result of
the pandemic.
Surveyors should continue to assign the material uncertainty
tag to "some leisure and hospitality assets" on a case-by-case
basis, it added in a statement.
Columbia Threadneedle said it would reopen its
1-billion-pound commercial real estate fund, aimed at retail
investors, on Sept. 17, after its surveyors CBRE said they had
removed the material uncertainty clause from the fund's assets.
"Volatility has been easing, and the longer-term case for
property remains compelling," fund manager Gerry Frewin said.
St James's Place said it would reopen three property
funds totalling 3.2 billion pounds in assets under management
from Thursday.
AREF managing director Paul Richards said it was up to
individual funds to decide when to reopen.
Other funds were more cautious.
A spokesman for Aegon Asset Management said its fund would
not reopen at least until after its next valuation date at
end-September, and the firm would also consider liquidity levels
and property-transaction volumes before making a decision.
Aberdeen Standard Investments also did not expect
its funds to reopen before Sept. 30 "at a minimum", adding that
it needed to look at cash levels, the real estate market and
expected investor flows.
Janus Henderson and M&G said their funds
remained suspended and they would update investors in four weeks
at the latest.
Aviva said it was monitoring the situation and Royal
London said it had not yet reached a decision.
Regulators are unhappy about funds, such as the retail
property funds, which invest in illiquid assets but allow
investors to take their money out every day. Many of the funds
were also suspended after Britain's vote to leave the European
Union in 2016.
The Financial Conduct Authority last month proposed that
investors in property funds should wait up to six months before
they can get their money back, to avoid a stampede for the exit
leading to widespread suspensions in rocky markets.
($1 = 0.7686 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Pravin Char and Mark
Potter)
