Forum hires Citigroup real estate securities team

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Forum Partners, a privately owned property fund manager, has taken over Citi Alternative Investment's (C.N) global real estate securities team and its $450 million portfolio, a senior executive said on Thursday.

As of Wednesday, Forum has hired Citi's entire real estate securities team, comprising 13 people led by Dan Pine, and took on its existing mandates, Forum's Chief Financial Officer, David Karp, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"We think there is tremendous growth opportunities within the business on the public side, and there's an ability to benefit from synergies in product development and client relationships," Greenwich, Connecticut-based Karp said.

The former Citi team's clients include the Pinnacle Global Real Estate Securities Fund, which is sponsored by ScotiaMcLeod, a part of Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO).

Karp said the team is being deployed in Forum's offices in Greenwich, Toronto, London and Hong Kong.

Forum, which has launched three Europe-focused funds and three Asia funds since it was founded in 2002, currently has $2 billion in assets under management, according to its Website. (Reporting by Daryl Loo; Editing by Andrew Macdonald) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real estate professionals from Reuters)