Armin Hafner

Armin Hafner, CFA, CAIA · Zurich, Switzerland

Eleven years in real estate investments — spanning transaction advisory and valuation, principal-side investment management, investment strategy and the structuring of investment solutions.

Today I work as Investment Solutions & Strategy Manager at PURE Group, focusing on investment vehicles, joint ventures and co-investments in the real estate industry. CFA and CAIA charterholder, and Certified Real Estate Investment Analyst (IREBS / DVFA).

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Profile

Throughout my career, I have gained experience in real estate investments from different perspectives: as a transaction advisor at PwC, in principal-side investment management at Implenia, and now in developing and structuring investment solutions at PURE Group.

My experience spans investment analysis and valuation, complex transactions, and the development of investment strategies and ownership structures. For me, assessing an investment goes beyond its financial attractiveness. It also requires an understanding of investor objectives, decision-making processes and practical execution, particularly in the context of changing economic and political conditions.

While my professional background is firmly rooted in real estate, the underlying principles and processes of investing – from analysis and due diligence to capital allocation and structuring – are equally relevant across traditional and alternative asset classes. My interests therefore extend to the broader questions of investing, finding practical solutions to complex investment challenges, and the strategic development of investment platforms, particularly within alternative investments.

Based
Zurich, Switzerland
Coverage
Switzerland, Germany, Austria · European transactions
Credentials
CFA charterholder · CAIA charterholder · CREA (IREBS / DVFA)
Investment focus
Real estate equity · direct and indirect investments · co-investments · investment vehicles
Real estate sectors
Residential · office · retail · hospitality · mixed-use · development
Wider interest
Private markets · real assets · investment platforms
Structures
Direct investments · indirect investments · joint ventures · co-investments · club deals · private equity real estate · funds and investment vehicles · SPVs · asset and share deals
Investment spectrum
Core through opportunistic
Languages
German (native), English (C1/C2)
Member of
CFA Institute, CAIA Association

Experience

2025to present

PURE Group

Zug, Switzerland
  • Investment Solutions & Strategy Manager Sep 2025 – present
  • Design investment solutions across core, value-add and opportunistic real estate strategies for institutional and semi-professional investors, translating investor requirements into investable structures and deployment frameworks.
  • Structure SPVs, joint ventures, club deals and co-investment vehicles, including investment structure, commercial terms, governance and investor participation.
  • Develop a repeatable structuring and tax framework for real estate investment vehicles, including coordination of a formal ruling process with the competent tax authority.
  • Assess investment propositions, business plans and potential partners, and prepare the material for investors and senior management.
  • Support investor development and third-party mandate origination for real estate investment solutions.
  • Coordinate across investors, owners, independent valuers, advisers, brokers, contractors and internal legal, finance and development functions.
2021to 2025

Implenia Schweiz AG

Division Real Estate · Opfikon, Zurich
  • Team Lead Investment Management Apr 2023 – May 2025
  • Senior Investment Manager Apr 2021 – Apr 2023
  • Led the investment team for Switzerland and Germany, screening and underwriting an investment universe exceeding CHF 2 billion.
  • Owned underwriting and investment committee materials for more than CHF 400 million of investment opportunities across direct acquisitions, share deals and joint venture structures.
  • Led multidisciplinary due diligence across commercial, financial, legal, tax and technical workstreams and integrated the findings into investment recommendations.
  • Evaluated investments across risk, return, capital structure, development assumptions, downside scenarios and strategic fit.
  • Co-authored divisional investment strategy and capital allocation priorities, including counter-cyclical strategies for market downturns, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Developed the team and introduced structured screening and decision processes to improve investment pipeline execution.
2015to 2021

PwC Austria

Deals Financial Services Real Estate · Vienna
  • Manager Oct 2018 – Mar 2021
  • Senior Consultant Oct 2016 – Oct 2018
  • Consultant Apr 2015 – Sep 2016
  • Advised investors, corporates and asset owners on real estate transactions through commercial due diligence, valuation and transaction analysis across both asset and share deals.
  • Delivered buy-side and sell-side workstreams on national and cross-border transactions reaching triple-digit million transaction values, including prime office and pan-European retail portfolios.
  • Performed company, asset and portfolio valuations and produced fairness opinions supporting transaction, ownership and capital-allocation decisions.
  • Analysed business plans, cash flows, value drivers, transaction structures and downside risks across real estate companies, projects and portfolios.
  • Designed and implemented an investment-performance framework for the CFO of an international developer with a project portfolio exceeding EUR 500 million.
  • Developed deep specialist expertise in real estate valuation, market analysis and regulatory constraints, including the Viennese investment market and Austrian tenancy law.

Selected investments, transactions and mandates

Mandate Investment context Sector Scale My role
Collective investment vehicle for institutional investors Principal / Structuring Swiss real estate In structuring Structuring of the vehicle, its governance and regulatory architecture.
Club deal vehicle and tax framework Co-investment / Structuring Swiss real estate Repeatable Designed the co-investment structure, governance and tax framework through a formal ruling process.
Swiss and German investment pipeline Principal investment Residential, mixed-use CHF 2bn screened Principal-side underwriting lead; investment analysis and investment committee recommendation.
Developer performance framework Portfolio analytics Mixed-use development EUR 500m+ Designed and implemented the CFO reporting tool.
European portfolio transaction Portfolio transaction / Buy-side N/A N/A Real estate workstream within the operational due diligence team. Transaction closed.
Prime office transaction, Vienna Direct investment / Buy-side Office N/A Real estate workstream within the operational due diligence team. Transaction closed.

Counterparties, asset names and commercial terms are withheld under the applicable confidentiality undertakings. Further detail can be discussed only to the extent disclosure is permitted.

Investment credentials and education

Professional

  • CFA CharterholderCFA Institute, October 2026
  • CAIA CharterholderChartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, 2023
  • CREA — Certified Real Estate Investment Analyst (IREBS / DVFA)Deutsche Vereinigung für Finanzanalyse und Asset Management, 2018–2019

Academic

  • Master of Arts — Business Consultancy and Strategic Management, Real Estate ManagementUniversity of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, 2012–2014. Exchange semester in finance and financial management services, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, 2014.
  • Master’s thesisEcclesiastical real estate management of the Catholic Church in Austria: utilisation strategies for vacant presbyteries.
  • Bachelor of Arts — Investment Consultancy & Corporate Finance, Real Estate ManagementUniversity of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, 2009–2012

Private investing

Alongside my professional work, my wife and I invest privately in young companies. Our interest lies mainly in businesses built around real estate, financial services and adjacent fields.

We are less interested in particular trends than in companies whose business model we understand and whose economics we can follow. We look for a sound financial basis, a well-considered capital structure, and interests that are properly aligned between founders and investors.

We invest for the long term and usually as minority shareholders. We do not seek an operational role or a board seat. What matters more to us is open dialogue, clear agreements and a shared understanding of where the company is going.

Sector
Real estate · financial services · adjacent fields
Stage
Pre-seed through Series A
Geography
Switzerland · DACH · Southern Europe
Instrument
Equity or convertible securities
Approach
Long-term · minority ownership · business models we understand
Decision
Taken jointly
Less of a fit
Single-asset structures · pure brokerage models

These investments are made for our own account and independently of my professional activities. Individual investments may be subject to the compliance policies and approval requirements of my respective employer.

Open to an exchange on real estate investments, private capital and investment structures.

armin.hafner@armhaf.com Email linkedin.com/in/armhaf LinkedIn Curriculum vitae, one page Download PDF