UBS funds and investment groups close financial year successfully

The UBS (CH) Property Fund - Swiss Residential "Anfos" increased the value of its property portfolio by CHF 114 million year-on-year to CHF 2.326 billion in the past financial year due to ongoing new construction and renovation projects as well as upgrades to existing properties. The fund achieved a performance of nine percent. The return on investment is 5.5 percent. However, the distribution was reduced from CHF 2.00 to CHF 1.80/unit compared to the previous year - "in order to strengthen the fund's organic growth", according to UBS.

The UBS AST Real Estate Switzerland (AST-IS) investment group increased the value of its portfolio by around eleven percent to CHF 1.92 billion in the 2015/2016 financial year. As at September 30, 2016, the portfolio consisted of 126 properties; among other things, a further non-cash contribution transaction with a pension fund in western Switzerland for CHF 67 million was carried out in the financial year, which added two properties to the portfolio. The performance of UBS AST-IS amounted to 4.8%.

The second investment group, UBS AST Commercial Real Estate Switzerland (AST-KIS), which focuses on commercial use throughout Switzerland, also performed successfully: The financial statements as at September 30, 2016 show a performance of 5.2%. As at the reporting date, the portfolio comprised 38 properties with a market value of around CHF 588 million. Two re-openings took place in the 2015/2016 financial year, which were completed in November and June with the planned issue volumes of CHF 50 million and CHF 75 million respectively with multiple oversubscriptions. (ah)