Commerz Real with a service that is unique in Germany: klimaVest ELTIF can be subscribed entirely digitally

Commerz Real offers a service unique in this form for its klimaVest impact fund: investors can now subscribe fully digitally to the ELTIF (European Long-Term Investment Fund). It is thus also the first investment product requiring advice, the units of which can be purchased completely digitally, i.e. without a personal conversation with an investment adviser. You can book units to your own custody account via all major banks, savings banks and investment platforms.

As a result, the path to becoming an investment adviser would become increasingly difficult for many investors in view of the branch closures of financial institutions. “We are opening up a secure and convenient way to invest in sustainable tangible assets in a risk-diversified manner and make a positive contribution to climate change mitigation.” Commerz Real explicitly sees digital subscription as a strategic supplement rather than a replacement for the previous sales channels.

Commerz Real’s cooperation partners for the digital service are the specialist service providers CP Capital Pioneers for digital investment advice and Xpecto for the provision of the necessary IT structure. “Technical implementation was an exciting challenge for us,” comments Harald Elsperger, founder and CEO of Xpecto. We now want to expand the newly developed IT infrastructure to other products, because fully digital fund subscription will be an important sales pillar in the long term. 

Torsten Filenius, Managing Director of CP Capital Pioneers, adds: "For years now, we have been seeing increasing investor demand for transparent and easy to understand subscription channels in the tangible assets segment. Ideally, such offers should be as easy to navigate and customer-friendly as for liquid asset classes. Our joint solution for klimaVest investors brings these benefits together."

In November 2020, Commerz Real launched klimaVest, the first impact fund for retail investors which invests in tangible assets in a focused manner. During its lifetime, it is expected to build a portfolio of renewable energy generation, sustainable infrastructure, mobility and forestry assets totalling at least 25 billion euros, of which approximately 10 billion euros will be equity. 

Unlike conventional sustainability funds, klimaVest invests in assets that make a measurable and thus demonstrable contribution to reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. In addition, other strict sustainability parameters apply in accordance with the applicable EU Taxonomy Regulation. The fund management aims to achieve an annual return (using the BVI method) of between 3.0 and 4.0 percent. 

Investors can participate from 10,000 euros and receive regular reports on the fund assets’ climate impact achieved in addition to its performance. In addition, they can use a digital CO₂ calculator to calculate the impact of the investments on their personal carbon footprint depending on the amount they have subscribed. An investment horizon of at least five years is recommended. However, units in the open-end fund may be redeemed on any trading day at the net asset value.