How Switzerland Gains as Global Capital Shifts

Private capital markets are entering a period in which structural forces matter more than short-term cycles. Investors and asset managers increasingly anchor decisions in long-horizon dynamics such as technological change, climate risks, the energy transition, geopolitical restructuring and demographic ageing. These forces overlap and reinforce one another. Their impact is visible across real estate, infrastructure, private equity and wealth allocation. Switzerland, with its stable institutions and scarcity-driven property market, is strongly aligned with developments that are reshaping capital flows throughout Europe.

Technology and the Search for Resilient Assets

Few forces influence private-capital markets more than technology. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and advanced manufacturing is transforming how companies use space and how cities organise economic activity. Research from Aviva Investors (2025) shows that high-quality inner-city offices score among the highest across all property categories because they benefit from strong tenant demand and high digitalisation requirements.

Zurich has become one of the fastest-growing data-infrastructure hubs in continental Europe. CBRE (2025) estimates that the region surpassed 150 MW of installed data-centre capacity in 2025, with another 120 MW in planning or construction. These facilities require substantial real-estate investment and long-term energy contracts, illustrating how technological megatrends channel capital toward specific types of resilient assets.

Climate Risks and the Transformation of the Built Environment

Climate and environmental risks reshape property markets, and therefore private-capital markets, in structural ways. Switzerland faces rising heat exposure, more frequent heavy precipitation and tightening energy standards for buildings. Renovation activity has increased accordingly. The Federal Statistical Office (2024) reports that renovation volumes rose by 7,4 percent, supported by cantonal subsidies and corporate climate targets.

Price stability has helped the sector regain momentum. The national building-price index increased by only 0,6 percent between October 2024 and April 2025, after several years of rapid cost inflation (FSO, 2025). This stabilisation encouraged developers to restart postponed projects, particularly in multi-family housing.

Structural scarcity remains a defining feature of the residential market. Switzerland’s vacancy rate of 1,15 percent compares with an EU average of roughly 6 percent. Zurich’s vacancy rate stands at 0,35 percent, Geneva’s at 0,45 percent. Asking rents rose by 3,8 percent in 2024 and are projected by Wüest Partner (2025) to increase by another 2,5 to 3,0 percent in 2025. Population growth of 74’000 people in 2024 reinforces this pressure and strengthens long-term demand for dense urban housing.

Energy Transition Accelerates Investment Requirements

The transition to renewable energy is one of the strongest long-term drivers of private-capital allocation. Aviva Investors’ TREND analysis (2025) highlights renewable-energy infrastructure and electricity networks as the asset categories with the highest positive convergence across global megatrends.

In Switzerland the investment requirements are substantial. According to the Federal Council (2025), meeting national energy-strategy goals will require grid upgrades worth CHF 2,5 to 3,0 billion by 2030. Swissgrid’s multi-year planning framework (2025) anticipates more than CHF 3,5 billion in network modernisation and expansion. Hydropower facilities also require reinvestment and new storage solutions as electricity demand, driven partly by digital infrastructure, continues to rise.

Transport infrastructure reinforces this trend. Switzerland’s national investment programme for 2025–2028 allocates around CHF 11,9 billion per year for roads, rail and digital networks. These long-term commitments create visibility for construction firms and institutional investors seeking stable, regulated returns.

A New Global Order and the Reach for Stability

Geopolitical realignment is reshaping supply chains and investment behaviour in private-capital markets. Deglobalisation trends, security concerns and trade tensions influence how companies allocate capital. In this context, the value of predictable jurisdictions has increased.

The BCG Global Wealth Report (2025) notes that Swiss institutions manage nearly CHF 2,5 trillion in cross-border wealth, maintaining Switzerland’s status as the world’s leading international wealth hub. High-net-worth individuals and families increasingly shift part of their wealth into real assets with low political and legal risk. Residential property values have risen about 85 percent since 2000, with increases of more than 120 percent in Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne and Zug. These markets remain insulated due to structural undersupply and high entry barriers.

Ageing Societies and the Pressure on Urban Space

Demographic ageing is one of the slowest yet most influential forces in private-capital markets. Switzerland’s median age now exceeds 43 years, and the population above 65 will surpass 2 million by 2030. Shrinking household sizes increase demand for dwellings even without strong population growth.

The Schweizerischer Baumeisterverband (2025) expects around 44’000 new residential units to be completed in 2025, supported by several quarters of growth in housing construction. Order books remain healthy into early 2026, although building applications softened later in 2025. Multi-family housing represents more than 80 percent of new planned units, reflecting long-term urbanisation and land scarcity.

Healthcare and social infrastructure also respond to demographic shifts. Demand for hospital renovations, research facilities and care homes continues to grow – supporting specialised construction segments that correlate strongly with demographic megatrends.

Infrastructure Provides a Strategic Anchor

Across the TREND framework, infrastructure stands out as the segment with the strongest structural tailwinds. Renewable-energy installations, electricity grids, transport networks and digital systems combine technological relevance with policy support and stable demand.

Swiss companies integrated into these supply chains continue to benefit. Implenia’s order backlog reached CHF 7,8 billion in the first half of 2025, supported by tunnel construction, bridge rehabilitation and specialised real-estate contracts (Implenia, 2025). Belimo recorded 20,6 percent revenue growth in local currencies, driven by ventilation and climate-control systems in hospitals, universities and data centres (Belimo, 2025). Zehnder reported 24 percent growth in its ventilation division during the first half of 2025 (Zehnder Group, 2025).

These indicators show that the recovery in construction extends beyond residential housing into long-cycle infrastructure investment which is an essential pillar of private-capital markets.

Private Capital Moves Toward Structural Allocation

Megatrends, described as long-term structural forces such as technological change, demographic shifts, climate pressures and geopolitical realignment also influence the behaviour of capital allocators. Swiss pension funds manage more than CHF 1’300 billion, yet their exposure to private-capital markets remains low by international standards: roughly 2 percent in infrastructure, 5 to 6 percent in private equity, and below 0,1 percent in venture capital. Comparable funds in the Nordics and the Netherlands maintain significantly higher allocations.

Global private wealth surveys show renewed appetite for tangible assets. UBS and PwC (2025) report that 33 percent of large wealth holders plan to increase real-estate allocations within twelve months, while only 20 percent expect reductions. Gold, art and private-market investments show similar interest patterns, reflecting a preference for assets resilient to inflation and geopolitical volatility.

Digitalised investment structures are emerging in response. Traditional direct real-estate ownership remains capital-intensive and operationally demanding. New fractional-ownership platforms allow investors to access institutional-quality properties with lower entry thresholds. These models illustrate a broader movement toward the democratisation of private-capital markets, showing that access structures evolve alongside megatrends.

A Market Defined by Long Horizons

Megatrends create both risk and opportunity across private-capital markets, but their influence is fundamentally long term.

• Technology reshapes demand for commercial property.
• Climate adaptation transforms the built environment.
• The energy transition redirects investment toward networks and storage.
• Geopolitical uncertainty raises the value of stability.
• Ageing societies change housing and infrastructure requirements.

Switzerland sits at the intersection of these forces. Scarcity-driven property markets, persistent infrastructure demand, an innovation-rich economy and legal predictability give the country a strategic position in a world where investors increasingly favour resilience over rotation. As 2026 approaches, private-capital markets will continue to reflect these dynamics. Structural forces, not short-term cycles, are defining the next chapter.