The pension fund for architects in the North Rhine-Westphalia region saw its investment assets grow by more than €0.5bn in 2023.

All of this is according to the organisation’s latest results for 2023, which were published this week. The increase in investment assets during the year is said to be 4.3 per cent and totalled €13.4bn as 2024 began.

Overall, the fund was pleased with its performance throughout the year, writing: “The situation on the capital markets developed positively in 2023 after the pandemic subsided and despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine as well as the intensified crisis mode on the real estate markets for pension funds in all major asset classes. Against this backdrop, the pension fund achieved and, in some cases, exceeded its targets.”

The previous years, it said, had been hard for all pension funds. 2023, on the other hand, saw great improvements.

The organisation added: “The economically challenging years 2021 and 2022 for pension funds were overcome by numerous positive developments in 2023. The pension fund's investments were positive in the majority of selected capital markets. The price declines in the asset classes of equities and bonds in the previous year 2022 were at least partially recovered.”

The strongest growth was in bearer bonds, which rose by nearly 180 per cent to reach €927.7m. Returns for these rose from 3.07 per cent to 3.91 per cent during the year.

Despite this, the largest segment of the firm’s assets was in investment shares, despite shrinkage in 2023 of 1.7 per cent.

The value of mortgages held by the fund saw the biggest fall in 2023, dropping by over a third to hit a low of €17.9m. This was reflected in remarks by the firm.

It wrote in this regard: “However, the strongest negative development was recorded in real estate investments. The now universally acknowledged real estate crisis led to significantly fewer transactions on the market than in previous years. Transactions were carried out - if at all - at significantly lower prices than in the past. The main reason for this is the sharp rise in interest rates, with the result that fixed-interest investments have re-established themselves as an alternative to real estate investments.”

On the earnings side, the fund raised €485.2m from capital investments in 2023, an increase of 1.8 per cent. However, returns saw a slight fall, moving to 3.56 per cent from 3.66 per cent. Investment shares also saw a drop from 3.75 per cent to 3.51 per cent.

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