LIFE INSURANCE: Should we succumb to real estate companies?

Products of the “Pierre Paper” less renowned than SCPIs, real estate companies (SCI) attract more and more life insurance holders. Be careful not to underestimate the risks.

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To invest in physical real estate in its life insurance, the investor has, according to his contract, several options. It may subscribe to shares of real estate investment companies (SCPI), public investment agencies (OPCI) or civil societies (SC or SCI). The latter are on the rise: they attracted 29% of the collection of real estate funds in 2021, according to the French Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (ASPIM).

It launches new media almost every month. The peculiarity of SCI, compared to SCPI: it is a sort of funds, which can in particular invest in real estate in all its forms, including by buying SCPI units.

How to explain this success? “Civil societies are made for life insurance”, summarizes Antoine Depigny, Director of Development at Primonial Reim France, the Capimmo Manager, the biggest SCI on the market. “Capimmo is a multisupports and multiclasses of assets, making it an agile product: its composition can evolve according to the market. On the sectors where we do not have an internal expertise, such as logistics , we can take a participation in another fund, “he says.

Alternative to funds in euros

In addition, civil society has no obligation to distribute revenues, it can keep them and reinvest them. Finally, SCIs have regular performance through a prudent management approach – which is not trivial, in a context where investors are looking for an alternative to Euro Life Insurance funds.

“We believe that good remuneration is between 4% and 4.5% currently, with a highly controlled level of risk, says Jean-François Chaury, Director General of Advenis Reim who launched a civil society (advenis Immo Capital) In July 2021. This brings a surplus of performance against the rate without risk. “

But thematic products have also launched niches, showing higher remuneration. “They meet a lot of success, like the products on the theme of the lives, viagenerations and Silver Avenir, who are the two ICS caught up with the most payments in 2021”, points out Pierre Garin, director of the real estate division at Linxea.

Another expected success: the new Euryale AM ​​civil society, health trajectory, on the theme of health. “As a first step, the major underlying [the main investment] will be our SCPI Pierval Health, but we will gradually diversify our investments to expose ourselves to other asset classes, including on the unlisted, but Always in the world of the health economy, “says Thierry Slayer, Euryale Services Operational Officer.

In terms of fees, civil societies usually show 2% entry fee. Much less than SCPI, so. “This gives the opportunity to arbitrate faster than with a SCPI, if the performances are not satisfactory,” says Raphaël Oziel, founder of the investment shop.

The risk must nevertheless be underestimated. “I am convinced by real estate in life insurance but attention, the SCIs are less transparent supports than the OPCIs, Pointe Sonia Fendler, president of Altixia. Thus, in case of wave of redemption applications, he n ‘is not sure that the ICS would all be able to cope. “The stone, even” paper “, remains an investment in the long run.

/Media reports.