Real Estate & Private Markets

Our capabilities reach across the risk / return spectrum, ranging from core to value-add and opportunistic strategies. We offer clients both direct real estate and infrastructure equity and debt investments or indirect exposure to leading real estate, infrastructure, and private equity managers. Investors can access our diverse product range across open- and closed-ended private funds, investment trusts, listed funds, REITs and bespoke separately managed accounts.

Our Real Estate business actively manages real estate investments of approximately USD 86 billion globally across the major real estate sectors, making it one of the largest real estate managers worldwide, offering both equity and debt investment opportunities. We offer our product capabilities on a global, regional and country basis and through open- and closed-end private funds, REITs, customized investment structures, multi-manager funds, individually managed accounts and real estate securities.

We have been investing in real estate for 75 years, having launched our first real estate fund as early as 1943. Since then, our business has grown steadily, expanding the universe and scope of our real estate investments and adopting a truly diversified business model.

Boots on the ground

We believe real estate is an intrinsically local asset class that requires on the ground knowledge and networks to provide superior investment opportunities. Therefore, we have established offices in major markets across Europe, the US and APAC. Our commitment to maintaining an experienced team of real estate professionals differentiates us from other firms that cannot retain extensive local office networks.

Our network has a deep understanding of local markets, ensuring that we are well placed to identify underlying fundamental value and exploit short-term mispricing. This market proximity allows us to source and execute property transactions as a local player backed by our wider global network.

Focused on sustainable investment

Climate change, energy needs and water scarcity are counted amongst the biggest challenges of our century. We acknowledge that buildings contribute significantly to CO2 emissions and the consumption of natural resources.

Therefore, responsible ownership and operation of real estate can have a significant positive impact on the environment.

Our Infrastructure platform invests globally across the key infrastructure sectors including energy, utilities, transportation, telecommunications and social infrastructure. Established in 2007, our dedicated team of specialists operates out of five international offices and manages over USD 3.5 billion in institutional client commitments.

Existing capabilities include closed end direct equity funds that invest in traditional, long-life infrastructure assets in developed countries. We target assets that provide essential services, possess strong cash flow and retain inflation protection attributes. Our direct platform also offers a clean energy strategy that concentrates on Switzerland and select other European countries. Our direct debt capability currently comprises a European strategy, which invests on a long-term basis in senior secured infrastructure credit.

Why infrastructure?

Infrastructure is capital intensive and typically has a long expected useful life, which can provide effective duration for liability-driven investors, who seek stable, predictable long-term cash flows. Private infrastructure debt provides a premium over public corporate bonds as compensation for the illiquid nature and the complexity of the investment, while infrastructure debt is lower risk than equivalently-rated corporate debt.

The defensive and essential characteristics of the assets, combined with the additional premium for private infrastructure, makes the asset class an attractive allocation for pension schemes and insurance companies. Furthermore, infrastructure can bring social and economic benefits to society. With these compelling aspects, global interest in infrastructure investments has surged over the past decade.

Focus on sustainable investing

We pride ourselves on our commitment to sustainable investing. Our investment process involves rigorous vetting of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of the asset. Throughout the investment's life, we continue to monitor the asset's ESG impact. GRESB, the Global ESG Benchmark for Real Assets, ranked our equity assets #1 and #2 in their peer group. We've received an A+ rating from the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).