Technology is a key value driver for real assets

In the March edition of our estatements magazine I highlighted the fundamental changes our societies, economies and our industry are facing, driven by four major transition trends – digital transition, urban transition, energy transition and living transition. We call them the DUEL megatrends in a world in transition. What these trends have in common is that they are all driven by technology. Not only that, but technology will also become a dominant factor for the future development of our real assets industry.

Why is this important for our clients and for us? Future investments – be it in real estate or in infrastructure – will have to factor technology in as a major innovation and value driver. Future living requires investments in smart sensor-equipped buildings. Modern logistics require real-time connectivity and smart renewable energy solutions such as solar rooftops. Decarbonisation is driven by smart construction technologies, smart building services and renewable energy solutions. And modern digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence are key enablers for our economies and our future living.

Thus, technology competence is key for future investments in real assets and future value creation. Moreover, technology is driving the convergence of real estate and infrastructure everywhere and clients are looking both ways for investment opportunities. We at PATRIZIA have the technology competence to understand the interfaces and synergies between infrastructure and real estate and enhance the value of their portfolios.

This is also reflected in our new mid-term growth strategy with the ambition to become a EUR 100 billion assets under management (AUM) smart real asset manager by 2030. To effectively capture these trends, as well as the convergence of real estate and infrastructure, we have taken a dedicated approach to refocus our organisation and combine our real estate and infrastructure investment expertise into one joint Investment Division at PATRIZIA. The combination of real estate and infrastructure – we call it RE-Infra – is not an established asset class yet, but it can be a key differentiator for us given our technology expertise to shape the future of the real assets industry.