Real Assets Archives

For directors of investment operations, governance is the foundation of effective portfolio management, accurate data, and risk control. In today’s landscape of rising regulatory demands and complex alternatives, strong governance is also a strategic asset.

Future-proof governance enables teams to move beyond reactive measures, creating resilient systems that enhance accuracy and credibility. This shift allows teams to focus on high-value tasks that drive portfolio success.

Raising Standards with confidence

Operational teams must deliver timely, precise data to boards, auditors, and regulators, facing higher expectations for transparency and risk oversight. For leaders, this is an opportunity to demonstrate that governance is a competitive advantage.

Robust processes foster confidence, reduce rework, and empower investment committees with better decision-making tools. At Alter Domus, we see organizations that strengthen governance not only meet current demands but also confidently explore new strategies and investment opportunities.

What Future-Ready Governance looks like in Practice

Future-proof governance is about strengthening operational infrastructure. For investment operations leaders, it means:

Resilient systems that maintain accuracy and continuity through staff turnover or market disruption.
Scalable processes that can handle the growing demands of alternatives – managing capital calls, monitoring liquidity, and tracking performance, etc – without adding headcount
Integrated reporting that provides a single version of the truth for boards, auditors, and investment committees.
Independent oversight that validates calculations, reduces operational risk, and enhances credibility with stakeholders.

With these pillars in place, governance supports efficiency and insight rather than slowing things down.

Outsourcing as a governance accelerator

Many endowments and foundations operate with lean teams, making it challenging to invest in the infrastructure required for governance at scale. Outsourcing fund administration provides a solution by reinforcing internal teams rather than replacing them. A strong partner like Alter Domus delivers:

Independent NAV and reconciliations, creating objectivity and reducing the risk of error.
Best-practice processes, refined across hundreds of institutional clients and seamlessly integrated into the operating model.
Technology-enabled transparency, giving operations leaders instant access to dashboards and reports without heavy internal investment.
Capacity relief, allowing teams to redirect time and talent toward strategic projects rather than manual processing.

In this way, outsourcing becomes a governance accelerator, embedding institutional-quality controls and reporting into organizations with leaner resources.

Tangible benefits for operations teams

When governance is strengthened through the right systems and partners, operations leaders see immediate, positive impacts. Audits proceed with greater speed and efficiency, requiring fewer adjustments and minimizing back-and-forth communication. This streamlining allows teams to concentrate on strategic initiatives rather than administrative burdens.

Board and committee reports become timelier and more insightful, establishing operations as a trusted source of decision-ready intelligence. This evolution enhances the quality of discussions and decisions at the highest levels.

Risk oversight improves, enabling proactive monitoring of exposures, cash flows, and liquidity across complex portfolios, fostering a culture of preparedness. As operational credibility increases so does trust from boards, donors, and external stakeholders. This strengthened relationship, built on transparency and reliability, lays a solid foundation for future collaboration and success, positioning organizations for sustainable growth.

Governance as an enabler of operational excellence

For directors of investment operations, future-proof governance means building a robust infrastructure that navigates today’s complexities while adapting to tomorrow’s demands. It minimizes risk, boosts efficiency, and empowers teams beyond back-office functions.

At Alter Domus, we specialize in helping endowments and foundations achieve this balance. By merging deep expertise in alternatives with advanced technology and independent oversight, we transform governance into a strategic asset. The outcome is a reliable data environment, clear reporting, and investment staff focused on strategy rather than reconciliations. In this context, governance becomes an enabler of operational excellence, key to sustaining efficiency and trust for the future.

Property Companies (PropCos) represent a fundamental structure within real estate investment landscapes across Europe. These dedicated entities are designed to hold, manage, and optimise real estate assets, creating a clear separation between property ownership and operational activities.

Real estate remains one of Europe’s most complex asset classes, presenting unique challenges that extend far beyond simple property ownership. In 2023, Europe concentrated nearly 21% of real estate assets under management by investment managers globally, highlighting its significance in the international investment landscape.Real estate remains one of Europe’s most complex asset classes, presenting unique challenges that extend far beyond simple property ownership. In 2023, Europe concentrated nearly 21% of real estate assets under management by investment managers globally, highlighting its significance in the international investment landscape.

The intricate tapestry of varying regulatory frameworks, accounting standards, and market practices across European jurisdictions creates a multi-dimensional administrative challenge that even seasoned investment professionals find daunting.

In this article, you will explore the key challenges and benefits of outsourcing real estate administration in Europe, providing valuable insights for investment managers navigating this complex landscape

Key Challenges in European Real Estate Administration

1. Regulatory Complexity

The European real estate landscape is characterised by its regulatory diversity, with each jurisdiction maintaining distinct frameworks governing property ownership, management, and taxation. For instance, German real estate regulations differ substantially from those in France or Spain, with unique requirements regarding property registration, tenant rights, and corporate governance.

Multiple GAAP requirements further complicate the picture. While some jurisdictions adhere to IFRS standards, others maintain country-specific accounting practices. IFRS emphasises that global standards provide transparency, accountability, and efficiency to financial markets around the world, but implementation varies significantly across Europe.

2. Real Estate Accounting Complexities

eal estate accounting presents unique challenges that extend beyond standard corporate accounting practices. Asset-level income and expense treatment requires detailed tracking and allocation, particularly for mixed-use properties or those with multiple tenants.

Tenant incentives and service charge management add another dimension of complexity. The proper accounting treatment of rent-free periods, tenant improvements, and service charge reconciliations requires specialized knowledge and careful documentation. These elements can significantly impact financial performance metrics and must be handled with precision.

3. Asset Diversity Management

European real estate portfolios often encompass diverse asset types, each with unique administrative requirements. Residential, commercial, and industrial properties present distinct challenges in terms of tenant management, maintenance requirements, and regulatory compliance.

Strategy-specific accounting requirements further complicate the picture. Core, value-add, and opportunistic investment strategies each present unique accounting challenges, from capitalisation policies to performance metric calculations. PropCo administrators must tailor their accounting approaches to align with the specific investment strategies being employed.

4. Property Manager Coordination

Effective PropCo administration requires seamless coordination with property managers who oversee day-to-day operations. This coordination is complicated by the diverse property management systems used across Europe, each generating data in different formats and with varying levels of detail.

Reconciling inconsistent reporting formats represents a significant challenge. Property managers across different European jurisdictions often employ localized reporting templates and methodologies.

The transition from cash to accrual accounting presents another coordination challenge. While property managers typically focus on cash-based operational metrics, PropCo administrators must convert this information to accrual-based accounting for financial reporting purposes.

5. Cross-Border Reporting Challenges

PropCo administrators managing pan-European portfolios face significant reporting challenges. Converting local GAAP financial statements to group-level reporting standards requires specialised knowledge and careful reconciliation. This process is particularly complex for portfolios spanning multiple jurisdictions with divergent accounting practices.

Timeline coordination with diverse local teams presents logistical challenges. Different reporting timelines, holiday schedules, and business practices across European jurisdictions can complicate the consolidation process.

PropCo administrators must develop efficient coordination mechanisms to ensure timely, accurate reporting despite these variations. Maintaining compliance across jurisdictions requires vigilant monitoring of regulatory changes.

6. Language and Communications Barriers

The multilingual nature of European real estate markets introduces documentation management challenges. Property-related documents, contracts, and regulatory filings may be in various languages, requiring translation and interpretation for effective administration. This multilingual environment increases the risk of misunderstandings and administrative errors.

Legal and financial terminology varies significantly across European jurisdictions, even when using the same language. These variations increase the risk of misinterpretation, particularly in complex contractual or regulatory contexts. PropCo administrators must navigate these linguistic nuances to ensure accurate interpretation and implementation.

Benefits of Outsourcing Real Estate Administration

1. Specialized Regulatory Expertise

Outsourcing PropCo administration gives you access to jurisdiction-specific expertise that would be painfully expensive to build in-house. Professional administrators have teams who know the ins and outs of multiple European jurisdictions, helping you navigate complex regulatory landscapes with confidence.

This expertise significantly cuts your compliance risk. With professionals keeping a watchful eye on regulatory changes across European markets, you’re less likely to face penalties or operational hiccups due to compliance oversights.

2. Real Estate-Specific Knowledge

Professional administrators excel at turning complex asset performance data into meaningful accounting metrics. They understand both the operational realities of real estate and the accounting principles needed to report accurately.

They’re also invaluable for transaction management. Their deep knowledge of real estate deals—from structuring acquisitions to planning dispositions—means more efficient transactions and better tax positioning.

Perhaps most importantly, they provide strategic financial insights that transform administrative work from a cost burden into a value driver, helping investment managers spot opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed.

3. Data Quality and Reporting Enhancements

Third-party fund administration providers bring consistency to your data. Their standardized collection processes across different property types and jurisdictions ensure reliable information for meaningful portfolio analysis.

You’ll gain deeper performance insights, too. With their market experience and specialised tools, administrators uncover hidden performance drivers and improvement opportunities. Better data leads to smarter decisions.

4. Cost Efficiency Benefits

Outsourcing slashes administrative overhead. No need to build and maintain specialist teams across multiple jurisdictions. It’s a fixed-cost reduction that matters.

Professional administrators deliver higher quality at lower cost. They leverage economies of scale and specialized expertise across multiple clients efficiently. But the biggest win is that investment managers can refocus on what truly matters: deal sourcing, investment strategy, and investor relations.

5. Scalability Advantages

Professional administrators adapt seamlessly to changing portfolio sizes and compositions—crucial in dynamic investment environments where portfolios shift through acquisitions and dispositions.

As your portfolio grows, complexity doesn’t mean proportionally higher costs. This scalability gives outsourcing a significant edge over in-house functions, which typically require substantial resource increases to handle growth. Your administrative support grows with you, without the growing pains.

Conclusion

Managing European real estate entities presents significant challenges due to complex regulations, accounting practices, and cross-border coordination requirements.

Outsourcing administration to experienced real estate fund service providers delivers critical advantages in compliance expertise, operational efficiency, and scalability. By partnering with a professional administrator, investment managers can free resources to focus on deal origination, portfolio strategy, and value creation.

As the European real estate market evolves, effective PropCo administration becomes increasingly important as a competitive differentiator. Investment managers who recognize this function’s strategic importance will be better positioned to navigate complexities, optimize structures, and deliver superior investor value in this challenging sector.

For asset managers, audit season is more than a routine compliance exercise—it is a critical period where operational precision, regulatory adherence, and investor transparency are all under the microscope. Even well-run funds can feel pressure during this time: schedules tighten, audit teams request detailed reconciliations, and reporting must be flawless across multiple fund structures and geographies.

For managers working with fund administrators who take a tech-first, low-touch approach, these challenges are magnified. While technology can streamline reporting and data aggregation, it cannot on its own replace proactive, hands-on guidance. Additionally, administrators with low or varying service quality may struggle to scale up or adapt to clients’ changing needs, further complicating the audit process.

The most common stress points exacerbated by a lack of high-touch support include:

Delayed responses to audit inquiries: Solely tech-driven platforms often prioritize automated workflows over real-time human support. When auditors raise questions—whether about NAV adjustments, intercompany transactions, or fee calculations—delays in response can cascade into last-minute escalations.
Limited visibility into complex structures: Private funds often have multi-class shares, co-invest vehicles, or feeder funds spanning multiple jurisdictions. Without a dedicated team that understands these nuances, managers risk receiving incomplete or confusing reports, increasing the potential for audit findings or rework.
Incomplete reconciliations: Automated reporting can handle standard positions and cash flows, but unusual transactions—such as NAV loans, secondary trades, or FX adjustments—require expert judgment. Low-touch models can miss these, leaving managers responsible for manual corrections under tight deadlines.
Reactive problem-solving: Tech-first providers often wait for issues to surface before addressing them. In contrast, high-touch administrators anticipate anomalies—spotting missing documents, reconciling prior period adjustments, and preparing schedules proactively to minimize disruption.
Pressure on internal teams: When administrators are unavailable or lack deep operational knowledge, fund teams must shoulder the burden—preparing reconciliations, chasing auditors, and addressing exceptions—diverting time from strategy and investor engagement.

Managing risk

A high-touch fund administration model mitigates these risks. Dedicated teams with deep operational knowledge and experience across fund structures:

Serve as a single point of contact for audit and regulatory queries, ensuring timely, accurate responses.
Prepare detailed pre-audit schedules, including cash reconciliations, capital call and distribution statements, and third-party confirmations, as an integral part of our service delivery—without additional costs or requests. This high-touch service is embedded directly into our offering, ensuring that clients receive the support they need without added stress.
Coordinate across custodians, prime brokers, and portfolio managers to reconcile positions and verify valuations.
Anticipate unusual or complex items, such as subscription line loans, multi-jurisdictional tax considerations, or NAV adjustments for illiquid assets, reducing last-minute surprises.
Provide transparent, customizable reporting tailored to the needs of auditors, investors, and internal management.

Ultimately, the difference between a stressful audit and a smoothly managed one comes down to the support model. Technology is essential, but human expertise, proactive guidance, and a relationship-driven approach ensure accuracy, efficiency, and peace of mind.

At Alter Domus, we combine leading-edge operational platforms with white-glove service. By integrating technology with hands-on support, we help asset managers navigate audit season confidently reducing risk, freeing internal resources, and delivering the reliability that investors and auditors demand.

In the dynamic landscape of private markets, every General Partner (GP) has unique operational needs and preferences. At Alter Domus, we understand that a one-size-fits-all model simply doesn’t work. Instead, we adopt a consultative approach, collaborating with each client to define a co-sourcing strategy that aligns with their specific requirements.

Whether it’s supporting a single process like Form PF reporting or managing full fund accounting cycles within the client’s infrastructure, our flexibility ensures that we meet diverse operational contexts.

Here are some examples of how we empower GPs through customized services and expertise:

Typical Capabilities Include:

Fund Accounting: We prepare books and records using the client’s technology platform, with workflows designed for dual review and sign-off.
Capital Activity: We calculate and format capital calls, distributions, and notices, while clients retain approval rights and manage LP communications.
Regulatory Reporting: Our teams collect, map, and format data to comply with evolving requirements.

By partnering with us, internal GP teams can concentrate on oversight and strategy, while our dedicated professionals manage execution within a clearly defined control framework.

Making the Shift: Practical Considerations:

Transitioning to a co-sourcing model doesn’t mean overhauling existing systems or starting from scratch. With years of implementation experience, we guide clients through a structured transition focused on clarity, integration, and flexibility.

Through our extensive work with clients, we’ve identified three key building blocks essential for unlocking the full potential of a co-sourced operating model:

1. Define the right scope: We pinpoint operational areas under pressure, such as:

Fund closings and reconciliations
Capital statements and investor notices
Data preparation for regulatory reporting
Waterfall modeling and fee calculations

2. Maintain System Continuity: Clients keep their platforms while we securely integrate into their ecosystem, ensuring a single source of truth and avoiding fragmentation.

3. Establish Strong Governance: We align with each client’s compliance and oversight model, ensuring clear roles, documentation, and audit trails. Managers retain ultimate responsibility, while our teams execute defined workflows according to agreed service-level agreements (SLAs).

Figure 1 – The Benefits of Co-Sourcing with Alter Domus

Benefit	How it Helps
Internal Oversight	Control over systems, data, policies, and approval processes remains in-house
External Execution	Alter Domus executes defined tasks at scale, with speed, accuracy, and rigor
Data Ownership	Clients maintain full ownership of their infrastructure and data environment
Regulatory Readiness	Respond to changing rules with agile support and specialist knowledge.
Investor Responsiveness	Meet LP reporting demands faster and more consistently.
Operational Scalability	Expand or contract support without internal hiring constraints.
Access to Talent	Tap into deep experience across private equity, private credit, and real assets

Co-Sourcing: A Model for Long-Term Resilience

For private markets managers, operational resilience transcends mere business continuity; it’s about forging systems and partnerships that can adapt and thrive in an increasingly complex environment. Co-sourcing provides the perfect balance: the stability of internal oversight combined with the executional strength of a specialist partner.

At Alter Domus, we view co-sourcing as a strategic decision rather than just a service model. It empowers asset managers to focus on what truly matters: creating value for investors, meeting regulatory expectations, and growing with confidence.

If you’re reevaluating your operating model or exploring how co-sourcing could enhance your structure, we’re here to assist. Alter Domus has extensive experience supporting transitions of all sizes and complexities—whether you’re managing a single strategy or adding new strategies.

Securitisation has become an indispensable tool for institutions, asset managers, and asset owners. This sophisticated financial instrument offers a powerful trifecta: effective risk management, enhanced liquidity, and streamlined capital structures.

For those contemplating the incorporation of a securitisation vehicle, a comprehensive grasp of this intricate yet potentially lucrative process is crucial. By mastering its complexities, you’ll gain the confidence to navigate challenges adeptly and fully harness the myriad benefits securitisation offers, positioning yourself at the forefront of modern financial strategy.

What is Securitisation and why is important?

Securitisation is the process of pooling various types of financial assets, such as loans, mortgages, or receivables, and converting them into marketable securities. These securities are then sold to investors, allowing the originators to free up capital and manage risk more effectively. The cash flows generated from the underlying assets are used to pay interest and principal to the investors.

During 2017 and 2018, the European Union set up rules for securitisations. The goal was to bring the EU securitisation market back to life while also addressing worries about risky practices that had threatened stability after the global financial crisis of 2008. Since it entered into force in 2019-2020, the framework has strengthened investor protection, transparency, and financial stability.¹

The European Commission has recently taken steps to revitalize the EU’s securitisation framework to make it simpler, more effective, and supportive of economic growth. These initiatives are part of the savings and investments union strategy, which focuses on improving the way the EU financial system works to boost investment and economic growth across Europe.

Benefits of Securitisation

Enhanced Liquidity

By converting illiquid assets into tradable securities, institutions and originators can access capital markets and improve their liquidity position. This transformation allows entities to free up resources that can be used for further lending to EU citizens and enterprises.

Risk Management

Securitisation allows for the transfer of risk from the originator to investors, which can help in managing credit risk and regulatory capital requirements. The main goal is to enable banks and other financial institutions to use the loans and debts they grant or hold, pool them together, and turn them into different types of securities that investors can purchase.

Cost Efficiency

Securitisation can lead to lower funding costs compared to traditional financing methods, as it often allows for better pricing based on the risk profile of the underlying assets. Recent EU reforms aim to simplify unnecessarily burdensome requirements and reduce costs to encourage more securitisation activity.

Diversification of Funding Sources

By tapping into the capital markets, institutions can diversify their funding sources and reduce reliance on bank financing. This diversification is particularly important in today’s volatile economic environment.

Regulatory Benefits

In some jurisdictions, securitisation can provide regulatory capital relief, allowing institutions to optimize their balance sheets. The European Commission’s recent proposals have estimated a reduction in capital requirements by one-third for senior securitisation tranches, which should encourage new issuances in member states where activity has been limited.

Key Considerations before incorporating a Securitisation Vehicle

The European securitisation market operates under the EU Securitisation Regulation (EUSR), introduced in January 2019 as part of a comprehensive regulatory response to the Global Financial Crisis.

The Securitisation Regulation amendments aim to reduce operational burdens by simplifying transparency requirements, with plans to cut reporting fields by at least 35%. The revisions introduce more proportionate, principle-based due diligence processes, eliminating redundant verification steps when the selling party is EU-based and supervised.

Notably, the requirement for Simple, Transparent and Standardised (STS) securitisations has been modified to consider pools containing 70% SME loans as homogeneous, facilitating cross-border transactions and enhancing SME financing opportunities.²

Choosing the right jurisdiction

Selecting the appropriate jurisdiction for your securitisation vehicle is a critical strategic decision that impacts regulatory compliance, tax efficiency, and operational flexibility. Several European jurisdictions offer competitive frameworks for securitisation vehicles, each with distinct advantages depending on your specific transaction objectives.

The optimal jurisdiction ultimately depends on multiple factors: the location and type of underlying assets, your investor base, anticipated transaction complexity, and specific business objectives. Regulatory changes, such as the EU Securitisation Regulation, have created a more harmonized framework across Europe, though important jurisdictional nuances remain that can significantly impact transaction efficiency.

Structuring the vehicle

Decide on the structure of the securitisation vehicle. Common structures includes:

Securitisation Undertaking: A corporate entity specifically designed for securitisation transactions
Securitisation Fund: Similar to an investment fund, but specifically for securitisation assets
Fiduciary Structures: Where assets are held by a fiduciary for the benefit of investors

These structures are designed to isolate financial risk and facilitate the issuance of securities. You can choose a bankruptcy-remote structure with a Dutch Stichting or a Jersey Trust, which are most commonly used, or incorporate a vehicle using an entity in your group.

Legal & Tax Implications

You’ve made the strategic decision to incorporate a securitisation vehicle—now it’s time to navigate the complex legal and tax landscape that comes with it. Have you considered how different jurisdictional choices might impact your bottom line?

Legal and tax considerations aren’t just compliance checkboxes. They’re powerful levers that can dramatically enhance your securitisation structure’s efficiency. Engaging specialized advisors early in your planning process to avoid costly restructuring later.

By strategically selecting your jurisdiction and structure based on your specific assets and investor profile, you can create a tax-efficient vehicle that maximizes returns while maintaining full compliance.

Servicing and Management

Establish a reliable servicing and management framework for the transaction. Effective management and administration of the vehicle by an experienced partner is critical to ensure the correct execution of the transaction.

As the legislative changes removed restrictions on leverage and the nature of the securities permitted as collateral, the SV can now enter into a facility with a credit institution. This is required to acquire the full amount of the contemplated investments, providing greater certainty to the market.

Conclusion

Incorporating a securitisation vehicle represents a strategic opportunity for financial institutions and asset managers seeking to optimize their capital structures, enhance liquidity, and manage risk effectively. The European securitisation market, with its evolving regulatory framework, offers sophisticated mechanisms to achieve these objectives when properly structured.

Partnering with an experienced service provider gives you access to specialized knowledge from structuring and incorporation to efficient implementation and execution to vehicle liquidation.

This collaboration enables you to navigate jurisdictional complexities with confidence, ensure regulatory compliance across borders, and optimize your structure for maximum efficiency and investor appeal. Such expertise has become not merely beneficial but essential for institutions seeking to leverage the full potential of securitisation.

Securitisation is complex and you shouldn’t have to manage it alone. At Alter Domus, we simplify the process with end-to-end expertise, from transaction closing through administration and up to liquidation. With us as your partner, you can focus on strategy and investors while we take care of execution.

Contact us today to learn about how you can unlock of the full potential of securitisation with Alter Domus.