Opening of the “Real Estate Switzerland ESG” investment group oversubscribed several times over

Issue oversubscribed several times over

The opening of the real estate investment group, with a subscription period from 6 May 2025 to 13 June 2025, attracted a great deal of interest from employee benefits institutions. The targeted volume of up to around CHF 450 million was oversubscribed several times over. More than 100 employee benefits institutions took part in the opening.

The new capital raised will be used for the targeted acquisition of additional properties and sustainable investments in the portfolio. The capital will also be used to reduce the borrowing ratio. The entitlements will be issued on 3 July 2025.

Planned portfolio expansion

The 40 or so properties are being acquired from Swiss Life Ltd (subject to approval by the responsible committees); they are predominantly residential and offer very good quality in terms of property and location (in major cities, their suburbs and medium-sized urban centres).

The investment group was launched on 30 November 2009 and has performed successfully since then. With a market value of over CHF 4.9 billion, it is one of the major investment vehicles in the Swiss real estate market. The purchase will increase the market value of the investment group's properties to around CHF 5.4 billion.

The investment group focuses on residential properties of varying sizes and years of construction and is broadly diversified geographically. Targeted investments further reinforce earnings stability and sustainable growth, which has resulted in an impressive net performance of 5.28% per year (key date 30 April 2025) since the launch.

Stephan Thaler, Managing Director of the Swiss Life Investment Foundation, says: “The opening, which has been oversubscribed several times, underlines the confidence institutional investors have in the quality of our broadly diversified residential portfolio with its attractive locations and sustainable orientation. It confirms our strategy and the investment group’s positioning as a stable, future-oriented solution in the Swiss real estate market.”

Responsible investment

Since 2018, Swiss Life Asset Managers has been a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are systematically integrated into the  investment and risk management processes at Swiss Life Asset Managers. In the real estate investment business, appropriate criteria are taken into account in both acquisition and management. The investment group has also participated in the annual GRESB ranking (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) since 2018. Thanks to its continuous optimisation process, the “Real Estate Switzerland ESG” investment group scored 88 points out of 100 in the overall assessment in 2024 and wasawarded the maximum of five stars.