Winterflood Securities is not convinced that RM Funds offers the solution needed by shareholders stuck in Home Reit (HOME ).

We reported yesterday that RM Funds, manager of RM Infrastructure Income (RMII ), had proposed to Home’s board that it replace Alvarium as fund manager. However, Emma Bird, head of investment companies research at Winterflood, said the appointment was not the best way forward for the listed fund whose shares have been suspended for two months.

In a note to investors this morning, Bird said she ‘had sympathy’ for the Edinburgh-based debt and real assets boutique’s argument ‘that its experience in litigation and disputes with property developers would prove beneficial’ and noted its direct record in managing student accommodation and dentist properties.

That said, despite the fact that RM’s Pietro Nicholls said the firm had hired two senior housing association advisers, she believed RM lacked sufficient expertise in social housing to run the homeless accommodation provider.

Bird’s focus was on how shareholders could extricate themselves from property that plunged 70% last year after short-seller Viceroy Research uncovered alleged over-valuation of Home’s assets and conflicts of interest in its fund manager’s dealings with property developers.

‘Our hope is that any proposed change of manager would be subject to significant shareholder approval and that some form of exit opportunity would also be offered for those that would rather put this saga behind them, although we acknowledge that the illiquid nature of the assets means this would not be possible immediately,’ Bird said.