Swiss Life Asset Managers boosted its real estate assets under management in Europe by €5.5 bn to €86.5 bn in the first six months of this year.
The investment management giant said the 6.8% growth was achieved thanks to sustained strong institutional and private investor demand for property.
Besides a continued focus on home market Switzerland, a major deal in H1 was the acquisition of a core office real estate portfolio in the central business district of Paris from Foncière Terreis at a value of about €1.7 bn. The deal was the largest real estate transaction in France in the first half of 2019.
Stefan Mächler, group CIO of Swiss Life, said: ‘Our plan is to continue to grow in those parts of Europe where there is heavy demand from institutional and private investors for long-term investment solutions with a pan-European reach.’
Swiss Life said it also wants to extend its sustainable investment approach to all asset classes and countries in which it operates in order to align its investment goals more with clients who consider sustainability criteria in addition to financial aspects in their investment decisions.
‘We are emphasising our support for sustainable investment solutions by intensifying and harmonising our ESG activities. This will enable clients to benefit more from our know-how in the future,’ Mächler said.
