If you’ve been wondering: what is fractionised co-investment? —you’ve come to the right place.

It is a type of investment that has compelling benefits for individual investors. Most investors are accustomed to the idea of buying shares. When you own a share in a company, that means you own a proportion of that company, and are entitled to a slice of its profits and assets.

Co-investing  is similar: it’s when a group of investors pool their money to buy a substantial property investment, and each investor then has a financial interest in part of the property. The ownership entities have many different forms, including property syndicates or real estate investment trusts (REITs)  or managed wholesale investments.

Mostly all of them operate for a defined term, after which it is wound up and the property sold or re-packaged into another co-investment. Typically, an investment is wound up after 5-7 years.

Individuals who invest in a company are called “shareholders”; whereas, individuals who co-invest are usually called “unit holders” in the case of a REIT’s or “shareholders” in the case of a syndicate. Irrespective, investors are issued unit certificates or shares once their offer to invest is accepted and investment is received.

Just like shareholders, investor’s receive dividends from  rental distributions, usually this is quarterly, but sometimes monthly.