pune private equity firm ask group has announced the closure of rs 520 crore first tranche of its rs 1000 crore domestic real estate fund the property investment advisory firm had launched rs 1000 crore domestic real estate fund with an initial close of rs 500 crores and a green shoe option of rs 500 crores the fund will continue to raise additional rs 480 crore till the final close ask said this is the second real estate fund from ask group the first fund of rs 340 crore was raised in 2009 which has been committed in six investments including two in pune amit bhagat chief executive officer and managing director ask property investment advisors pvt ltd said individual high net worth investors and family offices are major investors in the fund the fund is focused on asset management and risk management as its core differentiators bhagat said adding it would invest in mid segment residential projects in top seven cities in partnership with prudently managed developers we will continue the strategy of investing in city and suburban centric smaller gestation projects which can be launched in 12 months from the date of investment and can be completed in 3 4 years from the date of launch sunil rohokale executive director of ask investment holdings said the fund continues to look for compounding opportunities and does not prefer only an opportunistic play counter cyclical opportunity provided due to liquidity crunch and high interest rate presents a risk diversification and expansion opportunity for developers and hence a winwin for developers and private equity to reap the benefit of the ensuing growth opportunities and increasing urbanization he added high net worth individuals have understood the compounding power of investing through the fund route which targets the development margins without relying on property appreciation rohokale said ask group currently has real estate assets under management of rs 850 crores which will cross rs 1500 crores mark shortly he added