Corporate Overview
Swiss Life Asset Managers1 has more than 165 years of experience in managing the assets of the Swiss Life Group. This insurance background has exerted a key influence on the investment philosophy of Swiss Life Asset Managers, which is governed across our real estate platform by principles such as:
- value preservation,
- the generation of consistent and sustainable performance,
- a responsible approach to risks and opportunities, and
- incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects across our investment process.
Our objective is to achieve stable, risk-adjusted investment returns to support our clients to achieve their long-term investment objectives. Given the attractive risk-return profile of the asset class, Swiss Life has committed its balance-sheet capital to real estate for more than 130 years. Swiss Life Asset Managers co-invests with many of its clients, ensuring a strong alignment of interests.
Swiss Life Asset Managers offers this proven approach to third-party clients in Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the UK and the Nordic countries and increasingly also internationally with more than 1,900 real estate professionals in 26 locations around Europe.
Alongside insurance assets for Swiss Life Group, assets under management total €289.9bn (as at 31 December 2024), with €132.7bn managed for third-party clients.
Swiss Life Asset Managers is a leading institutional real estate investor in Europe2 with €93.4bn invested in real estate. In addition, Swiss Life Asset Managers has real estate worth €22.1bn under administration, held through its subsidiaries Livit (in Switzerland), Swiss Life Asset Managers Germany, BEOS and Swiss Life Asset Managers Nordic. Overall, total real estate under management and administration comes to €115.4bn (as at 31 December 2024). Swiss Life Asset Managers employs over 2,300 people in Europe.
1 Brand name under which the asset management and real estate asset management companies of Swiss Life (in Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, United Kingdom and Norway) have been operating since 2012; however, Swiss Life Asset Managers itself does not constitute a separate legal entity.
2 #2 IPE Top 150 Real Estate Investment Managers 2024 Ranking Europe, #2 INREV Fund Manager Survey 2024.
Sector forecasts
INDUSTRIAL:
The industrial and logistics sector remains fundamentally well-positioned to ongoing structural changes, with e-commerce still offering support and especially supply chain improvements asking for space across the countries. Sectors like grocery, discount retail and sustainable manufacturing are expected to drive demand. Prime rents will continue to rise, though at a slower space, with a growing gap between new best quality assets and older buildings. Investment activity is expected to remain strong, given the structural tailwinds generating occupier demand. Demand for modern, sustainable logistics hubs is growing, while more and more older properties are affected by vacancies. Early investment in sustainable features is proving advantageous for developers and investors.
OFFICE:
The demand for office space is stabilising, with a clear focus on best quality floor space and ongoing challenges related to hybrid working and tightening ESG regulations. Not only tenants but also investors remain focused on prime, grade-A assets and space, which can provide flexible working spaces and a high level of amenity, in well-connected, mixed-use locations. As supply for these best quality assets is limited, renal growth is underpinned in this segment. We expect rental and capital value growth to vary greatly between building quality and location, so it will be critical to understand market dynamics when underwriting asset performance.
RESIDENTIAL:
Many European markets suffer from chronic housing shortages, which is expected to intensify due to elevated construction and financing costs. Favourable supply-demand dynamics are suggestive of rental growth over the medium term. At the same time, investors should consider affordability levels when underwriting asset performance. The sector overall remains one of investors’ preference, especially as demographic developments are supportive and the sector is less sensitive to economic dynamics.
RETAIL:
After years of strong headwinds, the retail sector is expected to see a gradual recovery and some growth in 2024. Easing inflation levels and a stable growth rate in essential retail categories, such as food, are expected to support the sector. More and more investors see opportunities arising when broadening their geographic focus and focusing on various subsectors (retail parks, discount shops etc). The retail sector is the one to see adoption of technology as one of the first ones, as AI can streamline operations, boost productivity, and enhance customer experience.
OTHERS:
Well-located hotels with an attractive offering for both business and leisure guests are expected to show greatest resilience and offer scope for performance. For the healthcare sector, strong demographic shifts across Europe and the strategy to diversify portfolios into alternative sectors continue to support investor demand for healthcare assets.
Investment principles & strategy
The world and the economy are changing and demanding more from the built environment. This has manifested in a shift in the way occupiers use properties, including the lease terms they are seeking. Against this backdrop, we focus on ensuring that our clients’ portfolios reflect this ‘new world’ shaped by globalisation, digitalisation and societal change. For us, managing assets and risks means protecting wealth and increasing long-term earnings potential. Our investment management is based on understanding our clients’ risk and return expectations and accurately reflecting them in our approach to the market. Our main priority is to invest responsibly and act prudently with the assets entrusted to us. Investment decisions are based on in-house research expertise and a rigorous investment process. Therefore, we manage risk actively and perform risk controls systematically on an ongoing basis to monitor the individual portfolios. These controls enable our clients to review risks any time and compliance with the predefined investment process. The aim is to identify risks early so as to avoid or mitigate them, and to exploit opportunities for the benefit of our clients.
Strategic corporate development
Over the past years, Swiss Life Asset Managers has constantly grown its business activities organically and inorganically. We offer comprehensive services across the full real estate value chain with strong local footprints of over 1,900 real estate professionals in 26 offices across Europe.
- Capabilities: Closed and open-ended real estate funds (listed and nonlisted), investment foundations, dedicated mandates and separate accounts, fund of funds, JVs, club deals.
- Sectors: Office, retail, residential, healthcare, hotel/hospitality, student housing, logistics, light industrial and corporate real estate, life sciences, data centres and operational real estate.
- Broad range of investment strategies across the risk/return spectrum with specific focus on well-diversified pan-European core/core-plus or selective value-add capabilities.
- Thematic and sector-focused investment strategies such as European industrial and logistics, healthcare, hotel and leisure.
Swiss Life Asset Managers also acts as a partner for co-investments in Europe.
Performance Verification
Swiss Life Asset Managers has a history of more than 130 years managing real estate and a proven track record across all sectors through different market cycles.
Compliance statement
This publication does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell financial instruments, but is provided for information purposes only.
