In a sign of low confidence for retail from the institutional sector, fund manager AEW has said its new pan-European open-end fund will put a bar on retail investments for the next few years.

AEW’s new fund will invest in all other asset classes but specifically avoid retail, not just in the UK but across Europe, EuroProperty reports.

EuroProperty said big fund managers looking to buy prime assets are moving away from the traditional asset allocation pattern that saw them invest about half of their capital in offices, a third in retail and the remainder in industrial and sectors which used to be considered alternative.

AEW might consider investing in retail once the current upheaval is over.

Retail in the UK is seeing a remarkable drying up of liquidity: There has been only around £400M of retail deals so far in 2019, as investors and lenders back away. In a report earlier this year, debt specialist Laxfield said retail had changed from a core to a specialist asset class.