In late 2019, EPRA surveyed its members to gain a better grasp of their needs and further improve the services offered. According to the survey participants, the two main reasons for being an EPRA member are the events and networking opportunities, as well as the financial and ESG reporting guidance that the association delivers to its members (see Figure 1). According to a Senior Fund Manager: “The corporate access events are a key strength of EPRA’s offering post-MiFID II.”
Overall, the respondents believe that EPRA is achieving its mission (average score 8 out of 10), they value their membership experience highly (7.6 out of 10) and are familiar with EPRA’s work and services (7 out of 10).
Asked what EPRA should be focusing on in the future, the majority of participants indicated that bringing together companies and investors should be a key priority of the association. Other priorities indicated included educating the investor community about listed real estate, ESG topics and the continuous development of the EPRA financial and sustainability Best Practices Recommendations as well as further advocacy activities (see Figure 2). One Pension Fund Portfolio Analyst acknowledged: “EPRA holds a unique position in bringing together property companies and investors during the well-attended conferences and corporate access days.”
EPRA’s secretariat received a total of 97 responses from 85 companies, which represents roughly one-third of the EPRA members. Almost 75% of the respondents represent property companies, 18% investors and 8% consultants. In terms of seniority, over half of the participants were C-suite level.
If you want to know more about the survey or EPRA’s membership, please contact Iskren Marinov, EPRA’s Membership Manager.
