Swiss Life Asset Managers has unveiled plans to build up a €1 bn logistics and industrial portfolio in Europe through the launch of both an investment vehicle for Swiss pension funds and a fund for institutional investors.
The strategy, which is expected to be operational from autumn 2020, will focus on logistics and industrial assets on a 50-50 basis in European countries such as Germany, France, Benelux, Switzerland and the UK.
Commenting on the rationale for the move, Swiss Life AM said that the European industrial and logistics real estate are expected to benefit from a number of megatrends including de-globalisation and e-commerce. ‘Industrial and logistics real estate is noted for producing steady returns, as the focus is more on rental income and less on value increases from market growth. The mix of small industrial and large-scale logistics properties points to above-average returns with below-average earnings volatility,’ the company said, adding that the sector together with residential is proving to be extremely robust despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis.
Swiss Life Asset Managers has successfully expanded its investment business for third-party clients in recent years. As at the end of March, assets under management totalled approximately CHF 79.3 billion. Together with the investments of Swiss Life's insurance companies, Swiss Life Asset Managers has assets of over CHF 250 billion under management. With real estate valued at around CHF 97.5 billion as at the end of 2019, Swiss Life Asset Managers is one of Europe’s largest institutional real estate investors1.
The strategy is expected to be managed through Swiss Life’s Beos AG arm, a specialist and a market leader in Germany for the development and management of industrial and logistics real estate. As at the end of 2019, Beos managed over CHF 4.2 bn of industrial and logistics assets.
