Feri Group, the German asset management boutique, has partnered with Darmstadt-based closed-end fund specialist US Treuhand to form a joint company named UST Immobilien.

The new company will be headquartered in Bad Homburg and provide US real estate market access to high net worth individuals and institutional investors, Feri said in a statement. It will also develop US funds for professional, semi-professional and HNW individuals.

Estein & Associates USA will manage the buying and selling of the properties as well as the property management in the US. Feri said it would set up a new investment management company to take care of portfolio and risk management, so that the new regulatory requirements of the German Capital Investment Act are met.

Feri will hold a 32.5 percent interest in the company, with the remaining shares held by Lothar Estein, founder and owner of US Treuhand, and Volker Arndt, US Treuhand’s managing director.

Feri currently has €3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) worth of assets in this segment under management.

“Real asset classes are gaining increasing significance both for institutional investors and for HNW individuals, and directly held properties represent a core element of any strategically oriented portfolio of tangibles. The collaboration is an important part of our strategy to generate more options for direct investments in tangible assets,” said Arnd Thorn, chief executive of Feri.