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
- responsible approach to risks & opportunities
- incorporation of environmental, social and governance aspects (ESG) 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, Italy, the Nordic countries and increasingly also internationally with more than 1,900 real estate professionals in 25 locations around Europe.
Alongside insurance assets for Swiss Life Group, assets under management total € 301.7 bn (as at 30 June 2025), with €147.3 bn managed for third-party clients.
Swiss Life Asset Managers is a leading institutional real estate investor in Europe2 with €94.9 bn invested in real estate. In addition, Swiss Life Asset Managers has real estate worth €25.9 bn 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 €120.9 bn (as at 30 June 2025). 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, UK, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Sweden) 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 2025.
Sector forecasts
INDUSTRIAL:
The industrial and logistics sector remains fundamentally well-positioned to ongoing structural changes, with e-commerce and supply chain management serving as key influences for space requirements. Needs-based sectors like grocery, discount retail and sustainable manufacturing are expected to drive demand. A further source of demand is emerging in many European countries through the defense sector. Prime rents will continue to rise, though at a more sustainable pace compared to the post-pandemic boom years, with the differences between high-quality properties and older buildings or poorer location qualities widening. Investment activity is expected to remain strong given the prevailing structural tailwinds. Demand for modern, sustainable buildings in infrastructure-anchored locations is growing while older, secondary stock suffers from increasing vacancy. Investors and developers should be focused on specification, sustainability and flexibility to preserve tenant interest and asset performance over the long-term.
OFFICE:
Tenant demand for office space has stabilised in Europe’s largest cities, albeit at lower levels than pre-2020. The focus is clearly on high-quality space due to ongoing challenges related to hybrid working and tightening ESG regulations. Tenants and investors remain focused on prime assets and space which can provide flexible working spaces, high levels of amenity, in vibrant, well-connected, and mixed-use locations, of which there is little supply. The upward trend in prime rents is likely to remain intact. At the same time, the divergence between building and location quality is becoming more pronounced, penalising lower-quality parts of the market and dampening their rental growth and performance prospects.
RESIDENTIAL:
Many European markets are characterised by a shortage of housing, which, combined with strong immigration, has led to a significant imbalance between supply and demand and a sharp rise in rents. There are no signs on the horizon that this situation will change, so rents are projected to keep rising. The need for additional supply creates opportunities for project developers who can navigate the environment of high construction costs and elevated financing. Meanwhile, core investors should pay attention to rental levels and affordability when underwriting asset performance. However, the sector overall remains one of investors’ preference, especially given supportive demographics and its countercyclical performance.
RETAIL:
The retail sector continues to face challenges such as consumer restraint and shifting spending behaviours which are dampening physical retail trade. High street areas in particular, but also many shopping centres, are suffering from vacancies and an increased risk of obsolescence. However, performance of retail across Europe is not homogenous, and some segments, including retail parks and convenience food stores, are delivering robust performance. Overall, the trend in retail property is towards mixed use, starting with the substitution of classical retail by gastronomy or leisure facilities, as well as by areas for residential or city logistics, creating attractive investment opportunities for investors compared to a purely retail-based asset.
OTHERS:
Well-located hotels with an attractive offering for both business and leisure guests are expected to show greatest resilience to operational challenges and offer scope for performance. For the healthcare sector, strong demographic shifts across Europe and the strategy to diversify portfolios into alternative sectors continues to support investor demand.
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 25 offices across Europe.
- Capabilities: Closed and open-ended real estate funds (listed and non-listed), investment foundations, dedicated mandates and separate accounts, 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 and hospitality.
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.
