20 CEOS. 20 OPINIONS. HANDELSZEITUNG SUPPLEMENT JUNE 2026
Interview with Anastasius Tschopp, CEO of Swiss Prime Site Solutions
Founded as a group company of Swiss Prime Site in 1999, Swiss Prime Site Solutions develops tailored services and investment products for clients in the real estate sector. The company’s CEO, Anastasius Tschopp, talks about the Swiss real estate market, new investment strategies and the role of AI.
Mr Tschopp, how is the Swiss real estate market developing for institutional investors?
The Swiss real estate market remains fundamentally very stable. Demand continues to rise, but supply is failing to keep pace. At the same time, the market is becoming noticeably more challenging when it comes to new investments. Interest rates, broader regulation and changing user needs are shaping the environment more than in the past. For institutional investors, quality, location and active management are even more important than they were a few years ago. Those who take a differentiated approach to investing and stay close to the market can continue to generate attractive, sustainable and stable returns. Real estate remains one of the few attractive long-term investments for pension funds.
You have been pursuing a long-term approach with Swiss Prime Site Solutions since 2018 – and have put emphasis on innovation from the outset. How do the two go together?
For us, they go hand in hand. Long-term success doesn’t come from standing still, but from the ability to adapt. Innovation is not just a buzzword. It helps us identify trends at an early stage and align portfolios accordingly. In this way, we create the basis for generating sustainable value and continually attracting new investors, even in a changing market environment. Developments in the field of AI in particular will help us further optimise the performance of our products.
How important is your 360-degree management approach in enabling you to manage and control investments as effectively as possible?
It is a key success factor. We do not consider real estate in isolation. Instead, we take a long-term view across the entire value chain – from acquisition and development to asset management, financing and operations through to the optimisation of existing properties. This holistic perspective enables faster, more informed decisions and creates long-term added value for our clients. We offer this service from a single source across the entire product range, which gives us a unique selling point.
What strategies can be identified and pursued in a volatile market environment?
Today, market volatility is more the norm than the exception. This makes it all the more important to remain flexible while also having a clear positioning. Volatility has become a constant. Successful strategies are therefore defined not by predictability, but by robustness. We focus on broadly diversified portfolios, countercyclical investing, active management and clear strategic priorities. At the same time, it calls for the willingness and courage to capitalise on the right opportunities, even in uncertain times.
«Long-term success comes from adaptability.»
What are the biggest challenges in residential real estate?
Demand for housing in Switzerland remains high and is being further driven by continued population growth. At the same time, the housing market is facing ever-tighter regulation and more complex political and planning conditions, which are making it considerably more difficult to develop new projects. In particular, long approval procedures, objections and stricter tenancy law requirements are reducing the incentive to invest and noticeably slowing down the completion of densification projects, vertical extensions and new builds.
A key challenge is to reconcile the creation of urgently needed housing with economic viability. While regulatory interventions aim to ensure affordable housing, they can have unintended side effects in practice by inhibiting investment and further reducing supply.
In addition, densification and construction within the existing built environment – both of which are key levers for the creation of housing – are becoming increasingly complex and costly. At the same time, new construction projects often meet with resistance from the population, which leads to further delays. Against this backdrop, innovative approaches and increased cooperation between policymakers, investors and companies are crucial. Ultimately, however, it will be essential to significantly increase construction activity and speed up processes in order to sustainably close the supply gap and meet rising demand.
You argue that commercial space should not be neglected, or may even need to be rethought. What do you mean by that?
Commercial space is a key component of a functioning and growing economy. At the same time, user requirements are changing much more dynamically than in the past. Flexible usage concepts, services, high-quality environments and convincingly integrated mixed-use approaches are all in demand. Anyone who plays an active role in shaping this development can unlock sustainable value potential in this segment as well.
Despite all the technological advances, there is still a need for physical space. People don’t just live in Switzerland – they also produce, shop and work here. Office, commercial and retail space will therefore remain essential.
What challenges do you face as CEO?
Today, the role of CEO involves the exciting task of providing guidance and reassurance in an increasingly complex environment while creating a clear focus. The aim is to correctly assess near-term developments while consistently driving the long-term strategy forward. The key is to guide the organisation through change at an early stage and with foresight, and to set clear priorities. Today more than ever, leadership means reducing complexity, creating clarity and setting a convincing direction. It means putting people front and centre.
To what extent are you and your team pushing the use of new technologies? What role does AI play in this?
We see technology as a key enabler and an important lever for our continued development. We are using it in a targeted way to make processes more efficient and further improve the basis for decision-making. Artificial intelligence in particular is becoming increasingly relevant, for example for analysis, repetitive tasks and forecasting. However, one thing remains clear: technology only offers real added value when combined with people, their experience and a deep understanding of the market.