UBS funds increase overall performance
The four UBS real estate funds Sima, Foncipars, Swissreal and Residentia each significantly increased their overall performance in the 2024 financial year, driven by valuations. What the four vehicles also have in common is that almost no transactions took place.
The UBS fund heavyweight "Sima" recorded portfolio growth of 4% in the 2024 financial year without any significant acquisitions, thus reaching the CHF 12 billion mark. UBS puts the investment return at 5.3% and the rental loss rate at 3.5%. Rental income increased by CHF 13.1 million or 3.0% to CHF 443.8 million and total income by CHF 17.0 million to around CHF 453 million. Expenses rose even more significantly: in particular due to higher financing costs and provisions for future repairs, expenses increased by CHF 33.6 million to CHF 232.5 million. Overall, net income fell by CHF 16.5 million to CHF 220.5 million. The bottom line is that the fund nevertheless reported a considerable increase in total income: At around CHF 370 million, this figure exceeded the previous year's result by CHF 171.7 million. This is due to a jump in revaluation of CHF 264.3 million to CHF 214.5 million. However, the figures were somewhat affected by the liquidation tax item, which amounted to a net CHF 75 million. At 16.8%, the performance was just below the benchmark SXI Real Estate Funds TR (17.6%).
In its annual report, the fund mentions two acquisitions, namely the properties at Hauptstrasse 72, 74, 76, 76a, 78/Birsstegweg 7 in Birsfelden and the retirement home at Dorfstrasse 16-24 and Seestrasse 545 in Meilen.
Foncipars
The value of the real estate portfolio of the UBS fund "Foncipars" in Western Switzerland increased by 5.7% to CHF 2.06 billion, while rental income rose by 4.3% to CHF 94.8 million. The return on investment reached 6.0%, while the performance of 23.6% was well above the benchmark value. The fund increased its distribution per unit by 5 centimes to CHF 2.80 per unit.
Rental income climbed by CHF 4.0 million to CHF 95.2 million and expenses by CHF 7.6 million to CHF 55.8 million. The higher costs were due, among other things, to higher financing expenses and provisions for repairs. Net income fell accordingly by CHF 3.5 million to CHF 39.3 million. The fact that total income increased by CHF 7.6 million to CHF 79.3 million was due to the item "unrealized capital gains", which rose by CHF 15 million to CHF 49.5 million.
The only transactions in the financial year related to two land purchases, namely at the addresses Mère-Voie 4, 6/Cherpines 11 and Petites-Fontaines 3, 5 in Plan-les-Ouates.
Swissreal
The UBS fund "Swissreal", which focuses on commercial real estate, reduced the rental loss rate to 3.6% in the 2024 financial year and increased rental income by 2.2% to CHF 108.8 million. Excluding transactions, the market value of all properties rose slightly by CHF 0.2% to around CHF 2.2 billion. At 20.2%, the performance was above the benchmark value, while the distribution yield is reported at 3.7%.
Income increased by CHF 2.2 million to CHF 109.5 million, while expenses rose by CHF 2.8 million to CHF 44.4 million. This resulted in only a slight decline in net income to CHF 65.0 million (previous year: CHF 65.6 million). Thanks to a valuation balance of CHF -11.8 million, which was a good CHF 14.8 million better than in the previous year, total income increased by CHF 9.7 million to CHF 49.8 million.
Residentia
The Residentia residential real estate fund posted an exceptional performance of 55.3% in 2024. However, the main reason for this is probably the Announcement This is due to the merger of several funds from the respective asset management divisions of UBS and the acquired Credit Suisse. The return on investment for the financial year increased to 1.9% compared to the previous year 2023 and the market value of the portfolio remained stable at around CHF 241 million. Income also remained virtually unchanged at CHF 11.5 million, expenses at around CHF 6 million and net income at CHF 5.7 million (previous year: CHF 5.4 million). The overall result improved from CHF -2.1 million to CHF +3.2 million due to significantly lower devaluations.
The fund's only two transactions are the consolidation of Via Quinta 53-59 in Biasca and the sale of an apartment and two parking spaces in Via in Selva 17 in Locarno. (aw)
