MFG Announcement

by on February 19, 2026 with No Comments

Please join us in welcoming Kohl Bauml as MFG’s newest Partner!

Kohl plays a key role on the asset management side of our business, where he focuses on the strategy, structure and performance of our investment vehicles. Kohl and his team help shape the framework of our investment portfolios and help strengthen our ability to deliver innovative, institutional-calibre solutions to our clients.

Licensed as a Portfolio Manager, Kohl also manages a number of client relationships at MFG. His client-first mindset further strengthens our team approach, which is truly one of MFG’s greatest differentiators.

We believe strong outcomes are built by strong teams – And our team just continues to grow stronger! We’re proud to have Kohl as a partner and look forward to what’s ahead!

Bluebird Canadian Self-Storage: Q3 2025 Report

by on November 20, 2025 with No Comments

ICM – Bluebird Canadian Self Storage Fund

Dear Unitholders,

The third quarter of 2025 has been another period of meaningful progress for the ICM Bluebird Canadian Self Storage Fund (the “Fund”). As the self-storage sector continues to attract increased institutional investment, our portfolio remains well positioned to capture the benefits of this sustained interest. Over the quarter, we achieved key milestones at our Quebec City development projects, completed a successful refinancing on favorable terms, and maintained strong operational performance across the portfolio. Our strategy remains focused on high-quality assets in prime markets across Canada, supporting long-term value and growth for our unitholders.

To read the full report – click the below link

 

ICM Bluebird 2025 Q3 Report

Forum Real Estate Income & Impact Fund – Press Release

by on February 7, 2025 with No Comments

Brookfield invests up to $100 million in Forum Asset Management’s Real Estate Income and Impact Fund (“REIIF”), the Leading Owner of Purpose-Built Student Accommodations in Canada.

 

PRESS RELEASE

Toronto, ON / February 6, 2025 / Forum Asset Management (“Forum”) is pleased to announce a strategic investment from Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”) in support of Forum’s acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing. Brookfield, through its real estate solutions strategy, will invest up to $ 100 million in Forum’s private REIT, the Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund (“REIIF”).

REIIF is a $2.4 billion institutional quality, private REIT that is the leading owner and investor of purpose-built student accommodations across Canada. The fund serves top university markets and is addressing the growing demand for attainable, high-quality housing, and leverages ESG principals for enhanced risk-adjusted returns. REIIF is comprised of 31 institutional-quality properties and approximately 10,500 beds.

Broofield’s existing global portfolio of student accommodations is valued over $7 billion with 60,000 beds across Europe, the US, UK and now, in partnership with Forum and REIIF, in Canada. Brookfield’s investment in REIIF is underpinned by attractive Canadian long-term supply demand-fundamentals and the institutional quality of REIIF’s portfolio.

Richard Abboud, Founder and CEO of Forum, said, “This important investment by Brookfield into REIIF is validation of our strategy and underscores the opportunity for large scale institutional investment in Canadian student housing. Brookfield’s capital will enhance REIIF’s financial exibility, support portfolio growth, and strengthen our ability to deliver critically needed, professionally managed student housing across Canada.”

FACT SHEET

 

ABOUT REIIF

REIIF invests primarily in institutional-quality purpose-built student accommodations, as well as multi-family rentals and furnished apartments, in supply-constrained markets. REIIF is committed to delivering impact and Extraordinary Outcomes™ to investors, enhancing yields and total returns while creating dynamic communities for students and renters across Canada.

Alignvest – June 30, 2024 Management Report

by on August 13, 2024 with No Comments

We are pleased to send you Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust’s Q2 2024 Management Report.

The first half of 2024 has been exceptionally busy for us! After spending most of 2023 cultivating and developing our acquisition pipeline, we were able to move quickly to secure several opportunities with vendors when interest rates stabilized after peaking in Q4 2023.

We kicked off the year in February with the acquisition of 417Nelson in Ottawa. This was a transaction we worked to source for over five years before it finally became actionable. In Q2 2024, we acquired 308 King, Fergus House and Hespeler House, all assets located in Waterloo, through proprietary relationships with the respective vendors. These acquisitions give us further scale in the market and let us effectively leverage our operating platform. We then acquired The Link in Montreal, which is ideally located near Concordia University, and gives us an entry into another attractive market for student housing.

With these acquisitions completed, we have solidified our position as the leading off campus student housing provider in Canada. We now have a portfolio of 7,159 beds across 17 properties in seven university markets across the country.

We are now focused on integrating these acquisitions and optimizing our overall portfolio as we get ready for the start of the 2024/2025 academic year. Our current occupancy (including newly acquired assets) is strong at almost 97%. Our pre-leasing continues to be robust, and we are expecting another year of strong rent growth.

In 2024, we have continued to deliver strong results to our investors, including a 6.5% YTD return as of June 30, 2024, and a 12.5% annualized return since inception (both are to Class F unitholders participating in our DRIP).

Below is the link to our Management Report. We have also included a link to our Q2 2024 Financial Statements. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Management Report

Q2 Financial Statements

 

Acquisition of 1680 Lincoln Avenue in Montreal

by on June 27, 2024 with No Comments

We are pleased to announce that we have completed the acquisition of a purpose-built student accommodation property located at 1680 Lincoln Avenue, Montreal, Quebec (known as The Link).

The Link is a newly constructed, 18-storey building located steps away from Concordia University and within walking distance of McGill University. The property is equipped with 246 beds in 101 fully furnished units, including studios, two-, three-, and four-bedroom suites, which provides a wide variety of configurations for potential tenants. Additionally, The Link features several amenities, including a fitness room, social rooms, a rooftop terrace, smart package lockers, and an underground parking garage.

This strategic acquisition further diversifies our REIT’s portfolio and solidifies our position as the leading owner and operator of Canadian student housing. With this acquisition, we own in excess of 7,100 student housing beds across Canada. Further, this acquisition marks our entry into Montreal, which is home to several universities and colleges in need of housing for their students.

Below is the link to the full press release. We have also included a link to an overview presentation of The Link.

Press Release

 

Overview Presentation

 

Information Sheet

ASH – Management Report

by on May 8, 2024 with No Comments

MARCH 31, 2024 – MANAGEMENT REPORT

 

We are pleased to send you Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust’s Q1 2024 Management Report.

We have had a very busy start to 2024 and are expecting a  successful year for our REIT. The macroeconomic environment has shown signs of stabilization and opportunity. Interest rates have come down from their peak in Q4 2023. Further, CMHC financing has become more accessible to developers and investors, which has materially impacted our ability to positively underwrite acquisitions.

We kicked off the year with the acquisition of 417Nelson in Ottawa in February. This site nicely complements our other Ottawa properties and is conveniently located only a few minutes walk from the University of Ottawa.  Continuing our growth trajectory, in April we announced the acquisition of 308 King in Waterloo, with an expected closing in late May. It’s important to note that we have spent several years working to secure both of these transactions. Our deep relationships and expertise provide us with a unique advantage compared to other investors in the sector. We have a robust pipeline of additional acquisition opportunities for continued growth.

Our 2024 pre-leasing season is off to a strong start. We are already almost 83% pre-leased for September 2024 at our privately-managed properties and are projecting a 21.8% gap-to-market on sitting rents when compared to current tenant lease rates. We are also pleased to confirm that the Canadian governments recent announcements to reduce the number of international student visas has not impacted the demand we continue to experience across our portfolio.

We are pleased with the results we have delivered to our investors, including a 3.2% return in Q1 2024 and 12.4% annualized since inception (both are to Class F unitholders participating in our DRIP). With a strong acquisition pipeline in front of us, we are actively raising capital to pursue multiple opportunities and continue our expansion across Canada. The future looks strong, and we are confident in our strategy and the corresponding returns for our investors.

 

Below is the link to our Management Report. We have also included links to our Q1 2024 Financial Statements and 2023 Audited Financial Statements. Please contact us if you have any questions.

 

Q1 2024 Management Report

Q1 2024 Financial Statements

2023 Audited Financial Statements

Alignvest Student Housing Acquisition

by on April 22, 2024 with No Comments
ACQUISITION OF HIGH-QUALITY ASSET IN WATERLOO, ONTARIO

We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a binding contract to purchase a residential property located at 308 King Street North, Waterloo, Ontario (“308 King”).

308 King is a newly constructed, 25-storey building with 340 furnished units, providing housing for 659 students. The property is located within walking distance of both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. The property offers on-site laundry, rooftop terraces with barbeques and lounge areas, an above-grade parking garage and bicycle parking. There is over 8,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

With the addition of 308 King, Alignvest Student Housing REIT will own a portfolio that provides housing for almost 6,000 students across 14 properties in six university-focused Canadian markets.

The acquisition is scheduled to close in May 2024. Below is the link to the full press release announcing the acquisition of 308 King.

 

Press Release - 308 King Acquisition

April 2024 Information Sheet

Student Housing Acquitistion

by on March 5, 2024 with No Comments

ACQUISITION OF HIGH-QUALITY STUDENT HOUSING ASSET IN OTTAWA, ONTARIO

We are pleased to announce the acquisition of a purpose-built student accommodation asset located at 417 Nelson Street, Ottawa, Ontario (“417Nelson”).

417Nelson is a modern 4-storey building with 94 beds in 53 fully furnished units. The property is in close proximity to our other Ottawa properties, which allows for operational efficiencies and enables us to continue to provide high-quality accommodation to students in the area. With this acquisition, we were able to assume attractive in-place CMHC financing which has a below-market interest rate of 2.32% and over six years of remaining term.

With the addition of 417Nelson, Alignvest Student Housing REIT now owns a portfolio of over 5,300 beds across 13 properties in six university-focused Canadian markets.

 

Below is the link to the full press release announcing the acquisition of 417Nelson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Press Release - 417Nelson Acquisition February 2024 Information Sheet

Change is Coming – Always Improving

by on February 7, 2024 with No Comments

At MFG, our Mission Statement is to be “Always improving”. Over the past 15 months, we have been refining the process of how we can better deliver our investment platform to our clients. Utilizing partnerships and data collected over the years, we’ve come up with a solution that we believe will improve our investment platform and improve our clients overall experience with MFG.

What is Changing?

We are transitioning to an investment model platform. Working with your Portfolio Manager, it will be determined which model is appropriate for you. Once this has been determined, you will own one or more of the new MFG Investment Models – Aggressive, Growth, and/or Balanced. These new Model Funds are built using the best investment managers and strategies that our team has researched. The platform utilizes the same investment philosophies of delivering an institutional quality portfolio to our clients.

The Benefits to our Clients

1. Increased Performance

    – Via enhanced portfolio construction and efficient management capabilities

2. Time spent with your Portfolio Manager

   – Spend more time focusing on other value add areas of your financial lives – IE: financial planning, insurance analysis, tax work, etc.

3. Communication will be improved through detailed Quarterly Reports

   – These reports will include facts about the Model Fund, general market commentary and additional information that our PM Division finds relevant to our clients

 

When to Expect the Change – April 1st, 2024

We are very excited to be able to deliver this new and improved platform to our clients. There has been a lot of work put in by our team to get us to this point. As we approach April 1st, you can expect to receive multiple communication pieces from our team diving into deeper details on the upcoming changes. If you have any questions on the upcoming change and what it might look like for you personally, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your MFG Portfolio Manager.

We want to thank you for your continued trust and support of MFG. Without you, none of this would be possible.

Stay tuned.

 

PDF Version

Alignvest – Management Report

by on February 7, 2024 with No Comments
Management Report – December 31, 2023

We are pleased to send you Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust’s Q4 2023 Management Report. 2023 was a successful year for the REIT. We started the year with a flagship property acquisition in Halifax, which expanded our presence into Eastern Canada. Our entire portfolio has delivered strong operating performance, resulting in a 21.4% return to Class F shareholders (with DRIP participation). With the growth in NOI, our portfolio is valued at $961.8 million, an increase of over 15% over the year.

The macroeconomic environment was more stable in the second half of 2023, with inflation decreasing to 4.0% or below since May and the 5-year GoC bond yield dropping over 25% since the end of Q3. We spent much of 2023 focused on building our acquisition and investment pipeline to be ready when deals became actionable. In Q4, with a robust pipeline, we were able to re-open the REIT for subscriptions. We appreciate everyone’s patience with us as we needed more visibility on our ability to put capital to work before taking in additional cash from subscriptions.

In Q4, we completed our equity investment in the partnership that acquired 149 College Street, a 43,118 square foot building in Toronto, steps away from the University of Toronto. We also entered into a contract to acquire a student housing property in a market where we already have operations, with an expected closing date in Q1 2024. In addition, we are in due diligence on multiple additional opportunities.

Our 2024 pre-leasing season is off to a strong start. We are already almost 60% pre-leased at our privately-managed properties for September 2024 and are projecting a 15.1% gap-to-market on sitting rents when compared to budgeted September 2024 lease rates.

Over the past several weeks, the Canadian government has issued new rules and caps applicable to international students. In particular, the focus seems to be targeted to colleges, where we have no exposure. As we stated in our response (link below), we do not believe these changes will have a material impact on our portfolio.

We are expecting to deliver strong performance in 2024 given our market leading position and our strong business fundamentals.  With a strong acquisition pipeline in front of us, we are actively raising capital to pursue these opportunities. The future looks strong, and we are confident in our strategy and the corresponding returns for our investors.

 

Below is the link to our Q4 2023 Management Report.

 

Q4 2023 Management Report Our Response to Canada's Cap on International Students
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