What are the best funds to invest in real estate?
Updated:
25 JUN, 2026
Favorites of European managers and investors. Therefore, in this article we have chosen to analyze the best funds to invest in real estate in the current environment.
The European real estate sector is at a turning point after the change of course in the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). After an aggressive cycle of interest rate hikes between 2022 and 2023 to contain inflation, the body began a phase of monetary relaxation that has progressively reduced the price of money —although at its last meeting on June 11, 2026, Christine Lagarde chose to raise rates for the first time in almost three years—.
This turn has direct implications for real estate. The fall in interest rates helps to reduce financing, which favors both the demand for real estate assets and investment activity, especially in capital-intensive segments such as residential or logistics. Likewise, it improves the conditions of access to mortgage credit, a key factor for the evolution of the market.
However, the transmission of monetary policy is not immediate. Part of the sector continues to reflect the impact of the previous restrictive cycle, with financing costs still high in historical terms and valuations that have been adjusted in certain segments, such as offices or retail. At the same time, structural factors —such as the shortage of supply in certain geographies or the strength of specific niches (student residences, logistics, data centers)— continue to support demand and rents.
4 funds to invest in real estate
In this context, real estate is back on the radar of investors in a scenario marked by macroeconomic uncertainty, the evolution of interest rates and the search for assets capable of offering stable rents.
Investment funds specialized in real estate assets are presented as an accessible way to diversify portfolios and capture the potential of the sector without the need to directly acquire properties. But not all products are the same: strategies, geographies, types of assets and risk levels vary significantly.
Next, we analyze a selection of investment funds focused on real estate, focusing on their performance in recent years.
How do we select these real estate funds?
For this, we have selected the funds that invest in the real estate sector that have achieved the best returns in the last 3 years within the categories Property - Direct Global and Property - Indirect Global, according to data from Morningstar as of May 31, 2026.
Within the category Property - Direct Global, the only three funds that remain positive in terms of profitability in the last three exercises are the following:
| Investment fund | ISIN | YTD Return | 3-year annualized return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schroders Capital Semi-Liquid Global Real Estate Total Return | LU2523339161 | 3.56% | 8.16% |
| UBS (Lux) Real Estate Funds Selection - Global | LU1107810597 | 2.42% | 7.50% |
| Global Student Residences BR FIL | ES0173545031 | 0.84% | 3.35% |
Schroders Capital Semi-Liquid Global Real Estate Total Return
The Schroders Capital Semi-Liquid Global Real Estate Total Return is a fund from the private markets division of Schroders that offers diversified exposure to the global real estate sector through a semi-liquid structure. Constituted as a SICAV in Luxembourg, its objective is to generate capital growth over a 5 to 7 year horizon.
The core of the portfolio is based on direct or indirect investment in private and listed real estate assets worldwide, distributed among United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Its main focus is opportunities in private real estate equity, through institutional programs and direct co-investments. Complementarily, it resorts to listed equity to access certain segments more efficiently, take advantage of valuation errors, manage liquidity, and reduce the drag of treasury on profitability. It also contemplates higher-yielding real estate debt.
Asset selection follows a thematic approach. The team identifies four structural trends that underpin long-term demand: technology and the knowledge economy, individualism and deglobalization, demographic changes —such as population aging— and a people, places, and planet axis linked to regulatory and sustainability standards.
The semi-liquid structure combines diversification by geography, sector, and vintage to generate a "natural liquidity" with liquidity management tools, offering redemption windows without giving up the return profile of private assets. The fund, classified as Article 8 (SFDR), is managed by Yim-Mei Liew and Lucinda Liss.
UBS (Lux) Real Estate Funds Selection - Global
The UBS (Lux) Real Estate Funds Selection - Global is a fund domiciled in Luxembourg and managed by UBS Fund Management (Luxembourg) that approaches global real estate with a philosophy different from direct investment in brick. With more than 15 years of experience, its approach is long-term and consists of selecting the best opportunities in the global real estate market, mainly in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.
The key to the product lies in its fund of funds architecture. The fund does not own or control physical properties directly, but offers access to a range of carefully selected real estate strategies. Investment in each target fund can be made directly or through instruments that replicate its performance, and also includes vehicles of real estate companies listed on regulated markets.
The result is a portfolio of notable breadth. Normally, the strategy revolves around 60 invested funds. The exposure covers the main segments —offices, retail, logistics and residential, and in some cases hospitality and health—, with a growing bias towards residential and an allocation that the team considers diversified and defensive.
This UBS strategy is managed by Paul Guest and Konstantina Stamatara.
Global BR FIL Student Residences
The Global BR FIL Student Residences fund allocates almost 100% of its total exposure to the E class shares of the GSA Coral Student Portfolio compartment (hereinafter, the underlying fund), integrated into GSA Coral Portfolio S.C.A. SICAV-SIF, a Luxembourg entity constituted under the figure of Specialized Investment Fund (SIF). Therefore, the vehicle is not supervised by the CNMV.
The investment objective of GSA Coral is to achieve long-term capital growth by primarily investing in a diversified portfolio of assets in the student housing rental sector worldwide, mainly in various regions of the G20 countries. The PBSA sector is underpinned by global demand for higher education and is driven by a fundamental imbalance between supply and demand in the world's main university markets.
GSA Coral offers a unique opportunity to gain immediate investment access to a market-leading and globally diversified PBSA asset portfolio, in 69 of the main higher education cities in the UK, USA, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Australia and Japan.
This strategy promotes environmental and/or social characteristics, in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of the SFDR Regulation.
On the other hand, if we look at the Property - Indirect Global category from Morningstar, the following investment funds from the managers GVC Gaesco Gestión, BlackRock and PGIM stand out. All vehicles have had a positive performance over the last three years.
| Investment Fund | ISIN | YTD Return | 3-Year Annualized Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| GVC Gaesco Opportunity Real Estate Companies RV | ES0143628024 | 4.77% | 14.46% |
| BlackRock Global Funds - World Real Estate Securities | LU1271663749 | 9.90% | 11.85% |
| PGIM Global Select Real Estate Securities | IE00BYM2RB15 | 10.87% | 12.08% |
GVC Gaesco Opportunity Real Estate Companies RV
The GVC Gaesco Opportunity Real Estate Companies R.V., FI fund, managed by Josep Monsó from GVC Gaesco Gestión, seeks to capture value through the cyclical divergence of the global real estate sector, identifying markets that are in different phases of the cycle. It prioritizes capital allocation in countries located in the low part of the cycle (valley), with potential for recovery and improvement of fundamentals, as well as in those in an expansive phase, avoiding as much as possible geographies with signs of overvaluation or overheating.
The portfolio is primarily focused on asset-based companies (owners and managers of real estate assets) with diversified exposure to different segments: residential, logistics, data centers, offices, retail, senior residences, student residences, among others. These companies generate recurring income primarily through the collection of rents associated with the leasing of these properties.
BlackRock Global Funds - World Real Estate Securities
The BlackRock Global Funds - World Real Estate Securities encompasses a set of well-differentiated approaches to real estate. Integrated into the Luxembourg SICAV BlackRock Global Funds (BGF) and managed by BlackRock, it is a fund of listed real estate equity, not private assets or target funds. Within the management team are James Wilkinson, Rajan Rehan, and Benjamin Tai.
Its goal is to maximize returns through a combination of capital growth and income, in a manner consistent with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment principles. To this end, it globally invests at least 70% of its assets in shares of companies whose main business is in the real estate sector, which includes companies focused on residential and/or commercial real estate, as well as real estate operators and holdings, for example, REITs.
The sustainability component is structural: the entire portfolio is invested in accordance with its ESG policy, which applies BlackRock's baseline screens for EMEA, excluding issuers with exposure to controversial weapons, fossil fuels, tobacco, or violations of the UN Global Compact, among others.
The portfolio is concentrated in the real estate sector and in the US market, which may result in greater volatility than a more diversified portfolio. And a key nuance: investing in real estate securities is not the same as investing directly in real estate, as it depends more on the general behavior of the stock markets than on the real estate market itself.
PGIM Global Select Real Estate Securities
The PGIM Global Select Real Estate Securities fund, co-managed by Michael Gallagher and Daniel Cooney of PGIM, aims for long-term capital appreciation. To achieve this, it invests in equities and equity-linked instruments issued by global real estate sector companies.
The management team applies a value approach, based on the analysis of the intrinsic value of the underlying real estate assets, as well as the evaluation of historical performance, execution ability, and strategic consistency of the management teams of the selected companies. Additionally, the selection process incorporates the study of the quality and resilience of the cash flows generated by the assets, along with the analysis of the dividend policy, paying special attention to its sustainability and growth potential.
The fund integrates ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria into the investment process and promotes certain sustainability characteristics. In this regard, PGIM Real Estate classifies the product as a "Light Green Fund", in line with the requirements of Article 8 of the SFDR, as it is a vehicle that promotes environmental and/or social characteristics.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
