Pictet Group is a leading independent investment firm with more than 200 years’ experience. As long-term investors we aim to direct capital to the real economy in a manner that improves the state of the planet.

We do this by building responsible partnerships with our clients and the companies in which we invest. With $772 bn in assets under management or custody as of June 30th 2024, Pictet is one of the leading independent wealth and asset managers in Europe. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in that city, Pictet currently has over 5,400 employees in 30 offices.

We are a partnership owned by seven managing partners, with principles of succession and transfer that have remained unchanged since its founding in 1805. Pictet offers only wealth management, asset management, alternative investment, and other asset-related services. The group does not carry out investment banking activities or grant commercial loans. 

We are one of Europe’s leading specialists and have been investing in, managing, and advising on alternative investment portfolios since 1989. As a private company, we understand private markets and believe in their potential to generate returns and support innovative businesses shaping the future. Our attention to detail, our independence and our long-term approach have brought Pictet’s distinctive hallmark of stability to these areas of investing.

Sector forecasts

INDUSTRIAL/LOGISTICS: 

We see last-mile logistics, in particular, as a way to capitalise on technological evolution. The creation of a limited new stock of logistics hubs over the past decade, combined with a shift in consumption patterns towards e-commerce has created a significant supply/demand imbalance in Europe. This has been further exacerbated by increasingly restrictive planning laws and competition from residential developers. Our investment focus is on last-mile logistics hubs in countries with a relatively low penetration of e-commerce, and where supply is limited.

OFFICE: 

The office sector has suffered from the Covid crisis and the boom in remote work which has shifted the factors influencing office occupancy. Nevertheless, we observe that most companies will still keep the same office footprint, but this will need to be adapted to their new requirements. Facilities to socialise, focus on wellbeing, flexible hub offices and ‘home-from-home’ services are increasingly important to attract and retain talent, as well to encourage professionals back into the offices.

RESIDENTIAL: 

The European residential sector is at an early stage in terms of the “institutionalisation” in most countries, with professional asset manager holdings at low single-digit levels, versus the U.S. for example. We believe therefore that European residential assets are under-managed and offer attractive investment opportunities. Our investment focus is on student and senior housing given the strong market dynamics and the positive demographic trends.

HOTELS:

The European hotel sector is rebounding after the pandemic, particularly given the pick-up leisure travel. Many hotels in Europe are family-owned, with insufficient levels of investment to modernize their assets to the levels required by today’s consumers. Additionally, hotels have the advantage of being able to immediately pass on increases in their cost basis in the pricing of their rooms, which can help mitigate the impact of inflation on returns to investors.

Investment principles & strategy

Pictet’s real estate network comes from the cumulative experience of our people and their relationships over more than a century. When combined with our local presence in six European countries, it allows us to access unique, off-market opportunities on behalf of our investors. Our offering spans an array of strategies for income and capital growth, delivered through direct and multi-manager solutions, as well as co-investment opportunities.

Our direct investment team, led by Zsolt Kohalmi (ex-Starwood Capital, Meyer Bergman), has a total of 116 years’ investment experience and a track record of 181 real estate transactions amounting to $35.5bn.*

We are active investors. We create value in our portfolios of assets independently of market conditions while leveraging long-term, thematic investment drivers such as technology, sustainability, and flexibility. The European built environment faces substantial environmental challenges and changing regulation. This puts sustainability at the heart of our investment process, bringing strong potential to create added value.

Pictet is a real estate partner of choice thanks to our strong, long-standing fiduciary credentials and close alignment of interests with those of our investors. We have a distinct investment philosophy that delivers strong performance through high-conviction investments with a thematic focus and a prudent risk-management approach.

*Source: Pictet Alternative Advisors, as at June 30th 2024.

Strategic corporate development

Over the coming years, we will continue to grow our direct real estate business by launching new funds and investing on behalf of existing ones. In particular, we are expecting to raise further capital for the following funds:

  • Pictet Real Estate Capital Elevation Core Plus: a European core plus fund that targets a consistent yield and capital appreciation. It invests in high-quality residential, office and last-mile logistics assets in major Western European cities and is offered in an ELTIF structure.
  • Pictet Real Estate Capital Elevation Fund II: the second in our range of European value-add strategies (Elevation I raised $700m in 2019) to capture the opportunities created by the current dislocation in European markets. It focuses on the mid-cap segment, with a sector focus in beds, last-mile logistics, and special situations in key European gateway cities.

COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

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