Three of Helvetia's real estate investment vehicles awarded a Green Star as part of the GRESB Real Estate Assessment

This year, for the first time, three of Helvetia's real estate investment vehicles were evaluated by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark. All three were awarded a Green Star. These awards underscore Helvetia's ambitions in the field of responsible investment, one of the four focal pints of its Group-wide sustainability strategy.

19.10.2023 | Media releases

This year, the independent Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (or GRESB for short) once again rated real estate investments in an effort to provide investors with an impartial and transparent benchmark for the ESG performance of companies and real estate investment vehicles. The Helvetia Investment Foundation's two real estate investment groups (Swiss Real Estate and Romandie Real Estate) as well as Helvetia Asset Management Ltd's Helvetia (CH) Swiss Property Fund were assessed by GRESB for the first time. These three investment vehicles, which have a total volume of around CHF 3 billion, achieved gratifying GRESB scores (of between 76 and 80 out of a total of 100) and three out of five stars in the benchmark comparison. These good results meant all three investment vehicles met the criterion for the separate Green Star award.

Vehicle	Score	Rating	Green Star
Helvetia Swiss Real Estate investment group	80 points	*** stars	Green Star award
Helvetia Romandie Real Estate investment group	77 points	*** stars	Green Star award
Helvetia (CH) Swiss Property Fund	76 points	*** stars	Green Star award

"We are delighted to have been awarded the Green Star for three investment vehicles that we manage on their debut in the GRESB ratings. This highlights the significance of ESG factors in our investment processes. We are convinced that our investors benefit from our ESG expertise and ambitions", says André Keller, Group Chief Investment Officer at Helvetia.

A sustainability strategy focused on responsible investment
The GRESB scores are the result of a comprehensive campaign to gear Helvetia's investment solutions to sustainability. Responsible investment is one of the four focal points of Helvetia's sustainability strategy. By 2050, the company intends to gradually shift its investment portfolio to net-zero emissions, fulfilling the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Contact information

Jonas Grossniklaus
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +41 58 280 50 33
media.relations@helvetia.ch

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About the Helvetia Investment Foundation

Established in 1993, the Helvetia Investment Foundation is a foundation under Swiss law as defined in Art. 53g LOB and Art. 80 et seq. SCC, and is overseen by the Occupational Pension Supervisory Commission OPSC. Its purpose is the collective investment and management of the pension assets entrusted to it by investors. To this end, it offers investment groups focusing on real estate, mortgages, mixed funds and securities. Its investors comprise employee benefits institutions domiciled in Switzerland whose purpose is the provision of occupational benefits. The General Meeting of Investors is the investment foundation's supreme body.

About Helvetia Asset Management Ltd
Helvetia Asset Management Ltd is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and provides fund management and asset management services. It offers collective investment schemes and is an independent fund management company operating in the interests of its investors. The company also provides investment advice and performs asset management, client representation and transaction management for employee benefit institutions, namely for real estate portfolios. Helvetia Asset Management Ltd has its registered office in Basel, Switzerland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Helvetia Holding Ltd, St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Disclaimer

The details and descriptions provided in this media release concerning the Helvetia Investment Foundation's investment groups do not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell certain financial instruments, nor are they to be understood as investment advice. They are for information purposes only. Any acts or omissions made on the basis of the information contained in this media release are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Compliance with statutory provisions is also the recipient's own individual responsibility. The recipient should also be aware that the ratings given in the media release may change in future.

The Helvetia (CH) Swiss Property Fund referred to in this media release is exclusively for qualified investors – as defined in Art. 10 (3) and (3ter) of the Swiss Act on Collective Investment Schemes (CISA) in combination with Art. 4 (3–5) and Art. 5 (1 and 4) of the Financial Services Act (FinSA) – domiciled in Switzerland. The details given of the real estate fund are intended exclusively as information and do not constitute legal, tax or financial advice, nor are they an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell investment instruments or other financial services or a solicitation or invitation to submit an offer. The sole binding basis for the purchase of or subscription to fund units is the fund agreement, including the appendix, and the latest annual report. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the fund management company, Helvetia Asset Management Ltd, Steinengraben 41, 4002 Basel, Switzerland, or the custodian bank, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Bahnhofstrasse 9, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland.