Aviva Investors has announced the launch of four specialist real estate funds, which it says are aimed at addressing the current under-funding issues being experienced by UK pension schemes.

The four funds form part of Aviva’s Return Enhancing and Liability Matching (REaLM) strategy, which aims to hedge against inflation risks and generate returns in excess of liabilities, the UK asset manager said in a statement.

The funds will invest directly into ground rent, student assets, social housing and commercial assets within the UK. The funds are open ended and have been launched with a 'significant' investment from the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme, which will benefit from the funds' long-term (25 years plus) income streams.

'We expect that exposure to these specialist real estate assets should enable pension funds to tackle funding gaps while generating returns in excess of liabilities in their investment portfolios,' said fund manager Chris Laxton.

The Aviva Investors REaLM project is made up of six funds with the final two scheduled to be launched later this year.

Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of insurance giant Aviva with assets under management of almost £260 bn.