Survey: Real asset investments will remain an important pillar in bank sales in 2026

Private bankers will continue to rely on tangible asset investments in their portfolio of products and services in 2026. Residential and logistics properties in Germany as well as energy and transport infrastructure are particularly in demand. Value retention and diversification are clearly at the forefront of investment objectives, followed by total return (IRR). The majority of respondents expect minimum returns of between 4 and 5 percent for real estate investments and between 5 and 7 percent for infrastructure investments.

The development of customer demand for real estate and infrastructure is heterogeneous - the answers range from decline to growth. Overall, stable demand can be derived. This is in line with the information on the placed capital of the past 12 months: 40 percent report a slight increase in volume, 38 percent a constant and 12 percent a decline.

The survey 'Future of Real Asset Investments in Private Banking 2026' was conducted in November and December 2025 by RUECKERCONSULT, Edelstoff Media – Private Banking Magazin – and Scope in cooperation with Quadoro Investment GmbH and EB – Sustainable Investment Management GmbH (EB-SIM). A total of 43 private banking units participated, mainly from asset management, private banking and wealth management areas.

Investment objectives and challenges in sales. More than 90 percent of the banks surveyed offer customers investments in the private markets sector, 92 percent of which are real estate products. Value retention (78%), diversification (62%) and total return/IRR (57%) are among the most important investment objectives.

Real estate investments: structures, types of use and regions. Direct investments (65%) are the most frequently offered. Indirect investments via closed and open semi-liquid structures (57% each) follow. ELTIFs, ETFs and equity funds are used by around 20 percent of banks. At the product level, residential real estate dominates in Germany (73%), followed by office and logistics properties in Germany and Europe. U.S. office and residential real estate are also considered by some banks.

Infrastructure: Wide range of products and a wide range of investment focuses. 68 percent of those surveyed offer their customers the opportunity to participate in infrastructure products. Open semi-liquid vehicles are the most frequently used (58.8%), followed by closed structures (47.1%); in addition, some banks also use ELTIFs (35.5%). Demand is spread across a wide range of usage types – with a clear focus on energy, transport, data and charging infrastructure.

Private Debt and Private Equity. Private debt investments are offered by 68 percent of banks, mainly through open-ended, semi-liquid and closed-end structures. Private equity investments are offered by 84 percent of respondents, often via closed structures, semi-liquid vehicles and ELTIFs.

First Seller: Expansion of Product Range Planned. Thirteen banks that have not yet offered any tangible asset investments are planning to enter in the future. Seven institutions want to include real estate products in their portfolios – including direct investments as well as open-ended, semi-liquid and closed-end vehicles. Seven banks also intend to provide infrastructure offerings for the first time, preferably open semi-liquid structures or ELTIFs. Four banks are planning offers in the private debt sector, five in the private equity sector.

Yield requirements. The banks surveyed cite the following minimum returns (IRR) for a product to be included in distribution:

• Real estate: most often 4–5% IRR,
• Infrastructure: 5–7% IRR,
• Private debt: 5–10% IRR,
• Private equity: predominantly > 7% IRR.

Reluctance to recommend platforms. Only 25 percent recommend external trading platforms if no suitable products are available – including Comdirect, Moonfare, Privatize and S-Broker.

Decision-making processes and digitalization. 83 percent of those surveyed say that the board of directors makes the final decision on product inclusion. Private Banking is involved in the decision-making process in 83 percent of cases, and Product Marketing in 50 percent. The degree of digitization is increasing: At almost 60 percent of banks, the sales process is partially or completely digitalized. dwpbank is used as the main settlement and storage point, followed by Attrax, DAB and FIL Fondsbank.