Real Estate & Private Markets

Alex Leung Infrastructure Analyst, provides a view on why middle-market infrastructure has a place in every investor’s portfolio

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Gunnar and Tiffany Comment on shifting retail opportunity

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Top 10 with… Interview with David Hirst on responsible investing in real assets

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Top 10 with… Interview with Tommaso Albanese on Infrastructure Equity

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Top 10 with… Interview with Roland Hantke on Multi-Managers Infrastructure

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Alex Leung Infrastructure Analyst, provides a view into the existing landscape of energy technologies

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Joe Azelby Head of Real Estate & Private Markets, comments on market challenges

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UBS Asset Management's Real Estate & Private Markets business is one of the largest asset managers in real assets worldwide, currently managing over USD 100bn globally. By combining the joint expertise of over 500 talented people working across Direct Real Estate and Direct Infrastructure as well as Multi-Manager Solutions in Real Estate, Infrastructure and Private Equity, we believe we can offer clients integrated solutions to optimize the diversification of client portfolios, whether that be in targeting access-restricted private equity funds or niche real estate funds.

Our expertise

Our solutions

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.

Real Estate

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REPM, serving as a leader in sustainable real estate solutions

Top 10 with… Interview with Benoit Delaby on Real Estate Customized Mandates pdf, 433 KB

Our Real Estate business actively manages real estate investments of approximately USD 95 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.

Infrastructure

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Sustainability is central to how REPM actively manages its infrastructure investments

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 six international offices and manages around USD 4.5 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 strategies #1 and #3 in their peer group. We've received an A+ rating from the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

Multi-Managers

REPM's Multi-Manager business awarded

“Best Fund of Funds Manager 2018" in Real Estate at the PIE European Property Investor awards

Our Multi-Managers business offers indirect real asset investment solutions via fund of fund structures for real estate, infrastructure and private equity – all under one roof. The combined business has a track record of 20 years and manages investments around USD 25 billion globally, with a team of around 70 investment professionals operating out of eight offices across the globe.

Multi-Managers Real Estate (MM-RE): In six locations across the globe, and with a track record of close to 10 years with over 100 fund investments and significant presence in major regions, MM-RE provides access to and management of unlisted real estate funds carefully selected from a broad universe of managers. MM-RE's product offering ranges from core to opportunistic, from developed to emerging markets, and from customized segregated mandates to commingled funds.

Multi-Managers Infrastructure (MM-Infra): Established in 2004, MM-Infra provides solutions for infrastructure investments on a diversified basis, tailored to match individual needs of institutional investors looking for exposure to the infrastructure sector. The offering includes closed-end private funds, customized investment structures as well as individually managed accounts, with a focus on operational infrastructure assets in OECD countries. The experienced MM-Infra team looks back at a solid track record, with commitments in over 60 infrastructure funds to date and consistent performance throughout economic cycles.

Multi-Managers Private Equity (MM-PE): Established in 1997, MM-PE offers holistic diversified private equity mandate and fund solutions which are geared towards meeting the needs of institutional investors such as pension funds, insurances, sovereigns and family offices. The investment team is comprised of experienced portfolio managers and investment analysts with extensive knowledge of the private equity ecosystem in the core markets across the globe.

Swiss Real Estate Securities (SRES): With a track record of over ten years, SRES offers diversified indirect Swiss property investments in both active and passive strategies, with a focus on ETFs, commingled funds and tailor-made solutions for individually managed accounts.

Responsible investing

Media

REPM, serving as a leader in sustainable real estate solutions

Sustainability is central to how REPM actively manages its infrastructure investments

Climate change, energy needs and water scarcity are counted among the biggest challenges of our century. UBS Asset Management's Real Estate & Private Markets business (REPM), created by the consolidation of real estate and infrastructure, acknowledges that real assets such as properties and infrastructure contribute significantly to CO2 emissions and the consumption of natural resources.

UBS has established a comprehensive approach to environmental and social factors, and to corporate governance across each of the investment disciplines.

At REPM we are committed to acting as responsible investors.

Responsible ownership and operation of real property can have a significant positive impact on the environment and returns for our clients. REPM operates with this in mind while investing both directly and indirectly into real assets. While the financial objectives of our clients remain the primary focus of our investments, our responsible investment strategy also considers long-term resilience, climate change, environmental, social and governance aspects.

In order to be able to maximize our results with regards to the implementation of our responsible investment strategy, an integrated approach is required. At UBS and REPM, sustainability plays a major role in corporate, fund and asset-level decisions.