SCPI: Fundraising Is Back, But It's Switching Sides
Net inflows totaled 2.2 billion euros in the first half of the year, according to ASPIM. Behind this nearly stable figure, new capital is concentrated in a handful of recently launched funds, while redemption requests are piling up for long-standing funds.
Over the past six months, the market for real estate investment trusts (SCPI) has presented two conflicting pictures, depending on the perspective. Viewed from a broader perspective, it is stabilizing. The French Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (ASPIM) and the Institute for Real Estate and Land Savings (IEIF) reported that, as of August 5, gross inflows for the first half of the year totaled 2.7 billion euros, up 2.6% year-over-year, while net inflows totaled 2.2 billion, up 2.5%. The second quarter, however, saw a 1.6% decline. On an annualized basis, the pace is around 5.6 billion, which is on par with 2018 levels, as noted by Philippe Depoux, president of ASPIM.
On closer inspection, this is not a return of savings to SCPIs, but rather a shift within the market. The half-year report published by France SCPI, a specialized broker, shows that 80% of new capital inflows went to diversified funds—amounting to approximately 1.8 billion euros—and that the top four SCPIs in this category alone accounted for nearly 41% of that total. All are less than ten years old, hold largely European assets, and have a target yield of over 6%.
Investors buy the yield, not the trajectory
The paradox lies elsewhere. While 53% of SCPIs reduced their quarterly distributions between the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026—with an average decline of 14%—71% of new capital inflows went to funds whose annualized distribution yield was lower than in 2025. Investors are therefore focusing on the absolute level of the advertised yield, not its growth. The remaining 47% of funds maintained or increased their interim distributions—by about 8% on average—but this was not enough to shift investment flows.
Across the market as a whole, the distribution rate for the half-year stood at 2.30%, compared with 2.29% a year earlier. This half-year figure should not be confused with the annual rate: SCPIs paid an average of 4.91% in 2025, up 0.19 percentage points from 2024. Market capitalization, meanwhile, fell to 86 billion euros at the end of June, down from 89 billion at the end of 2025, due to the combined effect of declines in share prices and redemptions.
Liquidity Improving, But Mainly on Paper
The most talked-about figure for the half-year is the number of shares pending redemption: 1.9 billion euros as of June 30, or 2.2% of market capitalization, down 31% since the end of 2025. Taken on its own, this looks like a return to normal. ASPIM is careful to point out that this decline is partly due to the temporary suspension of capital variability by eleven SCPIs, which account for 12% of the market’s market capitalization. A portion of the shares has therefore changed status rather than finding a buyer.
France SCPI, for its part, points to a concentration of the problem: five older SCPIs alone account for 904 million euros in unsold shares, up 22% since the end of 2025. In other words, the backlog is not shrinking; rather, it is concentrated in a few funds whose portfolios—often consisting of office properties in the Île-de-France region acquired before 2022—are difficult to resell. Meanwhile, newer funds are raising fresh capital, which they are investing under the terms of 2026.
For an investor, the practical implication is twofold. Holding an older SCPI exposes the investor to a lock-in period that the distribution rate does not compensate for—and that marketing materials do not always quantify. Subscribing today to a newer fund amounts to betting on the manager’s ability to maintain a high return once the portfolio has matured, at a point in the future when the effect of new capital inflows will no longer be a factor. The funds currently offering the best rates are also those that have not yet completed a full cycle.
Two indicators are worth examining before looking at the payout ratio. The financial occupancy rate—which measures the proportion of rent actually collected—stood at 91.3% at the end of 2025 for the market as a whole. The average debt ratio stood at 18.3%, a manageable level but one that weighs on funds whose assets have depreciated. As for share prices, they fell by an average of 1.8% in 2025, following declines of 5.8% in 2024 and 10.3% in 2023: the sell-off has slowed significantly, though it is not yet over everywhere.
Other retail real estate fund categories confirm that the pressure is not coming solely from SCPIs. Retail real estate investment funds (OPCIs) recorded net outflows of 337 million euros in the first half of the year, with a flat return and assets under management falling to 10.5 billion. Civil companies offered as unit-linked investments in life insurance policies posted 265 million in outflows and a return of -1.6%, with assets under management totaling 20.3 billion.
