Bouwinvest invests worldwide in 10 regions and six real estate sectors, primarily in metropolitan areas. This diversified strategy ensures Bouwinvest can respond to trends and developments, such as population growth, urbanisation and sustainability demands. Furthermore, this enables Bouwinvest to invest in sustainable real estate and to focus on social values, which ensures stable returns in the long term.

In addition, this diversified approach ensures that Bouwinvest can benefit from the various economic cycles in real estate markets. Given these trends, Bouwinvest expects to increase its invested capital in 2023.  

In 2022, Bouwinvest made progress in executing its strategy and this will continue in 2023 by focusing on three main strategic themes: 

Professionalisation: Bouwinvest will continue to professionalise in order to be able to deliver outstanding services, capabilities and results to its clients and to maintain its strong market position. 

Responsible business: Bouwinvest will continue to do business in a socially responsible manner aiming to be a frontrunner in sustainable real estate investments and to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements. 

Controlled growth: Bouwinvest will strengthen its investors base and diversify its products and services to generate controlled and stable long-term returns for its investors. 

In 2022, Bouwinvest made the following progress: 

Professionalisation 

Bouwinvest executed project SPIEGEL to assess to what degree the current operating model is appropriate to the organisation’s future ambitions. The report was delivered in Q3. The report recommended to further develop the organisation, including improvements in governance, strategy, processes, structure and people/culture. It was decided to address these recommendations through an organisational transformation that has since been named #invest. A Transformation Office has been set up to coordinate the organisational changes.

Work also started on developing an HR strategy to support Bouwinvest’s growth and quality ambitions. The roadmap has been finalised and priorities have been identified. The programme includes defining clear job descriptions, updating strategy on working conditions and developing a uniform, transparent talent and performance management structure to improve internal mobility. The focus in 2023 will also be on labour market communications and Bouwinvest employer branding in order to attract more talent to Bouwinvest.

In addition, progress was made in 2022 on further developing an integrated business planning and reporting system, including a KPI dashboard to ensure targets are in line with value creation.

In 2022, Bouwinvest continued to focus on information security and measures to head off cyber crime. This included the implementation of Security Operations Center services to monitor suspicious cyber behaviour alongside expanded response testing, information sessions and workshops for staff. The technology ecosystem was also upgraded.

The programme to further improve the risk management maturity level was completed and validated by a Big Four firm in early 2022. The overall conclusion was that Bouwinvest complies with prevailing regulations and current market practices.

Bouwinvest continued the further implementation of the revised Customer Due Diligence (CDD) policy in 2022. This includes measures required under the Dutch Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism Act (Wwft) and relates to both new and existing tenants, investors and business associates.

Responsible business 

Bouwinvest continued to implement its Paris Proof programme in the Netherlands. Our objective is to be Paris Proof with all our direct real estate investments by 2045.

Bouwinvest completed the investment framework and other preparations for the 2023 launch of an Impact Fund focusing on real estate in the Netherlands focusing on social value. The name, documentation, impact framework and initial investments in IT and administration have been completed and a Fund Director Dutch Impact Investments has been appointed. The formal launch details will be finalised in the first half of 2023.

Bouwinvest completed a net risk analysis for assets susceptible to physical climate risks. In 2023, Bouwinvest will draw up and start to implement a policy specifying how to assess physical climate risks and deal with climate risks for new investments. 

In mid 2022, Bouwinvest started a gap analysis to examine the impact of MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, a licence needed to offer potential new services to investors outside the existing fund structures.

Bouwinvest continued to implement the requirements set out in the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation), European Union taxonomy and the Dutch Pension Funds Agreement on Responsible Investment (IMVB), an agreement made between Dutch pension funds and which is key for reporting on the sustainability of financial service providers. Bouwinvest complies to all mandatory disclosure requirements for SFDR and has assessed the EU Taxonomy eligibility and alignment for its real estate portfolio. ESG has been further integrated through the introduction of an ESG framework for Bouwinvest funds and mandates and Bouwinvest has developed tools to assess ESG in investment proposals. At a fund level, ESG targets have been translated into KPIs and an assessment process.

Controlled growth

New fund documentation (terms & conditions) came into effect on 1 January 2022 for the Dutch open funds and towards the end of the year the 2023 plans for all the funds and mandates managed by Bouwinvest were approved. 

The Dutch government has decided that Fiscal Investment Institutions (FIIs) may no longer invest in directly-held real estate from January 2025. Bouwinvest continues to campaign for clarity on this shift in policy, while preparing to restructure the Residential Fund and Retail Fund into a Fund for Mutual Account (FMA).

Bouwinvest is launching a new strategy for Dutch impact investments as part of the plan to diversify its products and investor base. This new fund will be launched in Q2 2023. Other product development initiatives include researching the viability of a Pan-European Living strategy and a Dutch Build-to-Rent strategy. Bouwinvest has held several meetings with potential investors about the plans and these discussions are informing the further structuring of these initiatives into concrete strategies and plans.

Bouwinvest has updated the annual investment plan for bpfBOUW in light of the new requirements. In 2023 the plan will focus on the implementation of the bpfBOUW Strategic Real Estate investment plan 2022-2024.

The following key objectives have been agreed for Bouwinvest for 2023 as part of its transformation to better meet the challenges in the coming years:

• Execute the fund and mandate plans for the period 2023-2025

• Actively monitor market growth opportunities and act on them where necessary or opportune

• Further develop and implement an improved ESG framework

• Develop and launch new investment strategies and diversify the investor base

• Develop new corporate strategy and obtain the required approvals

• (Re)design of the operating model

• Continue to future-proof and grow the organisation in terms of staff quantity and competencies

• Implement the HR transformation roadmap

• Continue to investigate and analyse MiFID requirements

• Implement the new data strategy

Current market proposition

Bouwinvest manages five Dutch sector funds, three of which are open for investors, and three international mandates. Currently the funds and mandates have a total of 37 investors with € 15.9 billion assets under management (AUM). Bouwinvest is working on new investment strategies for a broader group of investors as it widens its scope of products to meet client demand and exploit opportunities in the real estate market.