Real Estate Private Equity

Klaus Georg Schmitz

Chief Investment Officer Europe & CEO UK at Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management

About

Klaus Georg Schmitz leads Edmond de Rothschild REIM's pan-European investment platform as Chief Investment Officer Europe and CEO UK. The platform manages approximately €13.7 billion across eight offices in Europe's core markets.

His focus is on identifying structural dislocations in European real estate — particularly in living and logistics — where demographic shifts, supply constraints and repricing create durable value for institutional capital. He oversees investment strategy, fund management, capital deployment and relationships with the firm's institutional partners.

Before joining Edmond de Rothschild, Klaus was a Managing Director at Ares Management, where he led real estate investment activity across the DACH region. He previously served as Executive Chairman and CEO of Peach Property Group, a Swiss-listed residential platform with approximately 27,500 apartments in Germany, €2.5 billion of gross assets and 230 employees. Earlier in his career, he held investment roles at Starwood Capital Group, PIMCO and N.M. Rothschild & Sons.

Investment Themes

Living & Residential

Structural undersupply across Europe's major cities supports durable income and visible rental growth. The focus is on supply-constrained submarkets — Berlin vacancy is below 1% — and affordable, lower-amenity assets where tenants are comfortable and there is genuine room to grow rents. Affordability is the defining theme: risk-adjusted returns come from reversion and active asset management, not from the premium end of the market.

Logistics & Light-Industrial

Urban mid-box assets in constrained locations offer consistent yield spreads over big-box logistics and a diversified, sticky occupier base insulated from global supply chain shocks. Older but well-located assets can deliver meaningful rent reversion and enhancement potential, particularly where functionality can be improved without full redevelopment. Transaction volumes remain roughly half their 2021 peak, creating buying opportunities for disciplined capital.

Alpha Through Dislocation

This is not a beta year. Higher-for-longer rates mean returns driven by yield compression are unreliable. The consistent drivers of performance are high-quality defensive income and credible NOI growth. Refinancing pressure and capital structure stress are creating mispriced opportunities for investors with the right type of capital and execution capability. Fundamentals first, allocation second, timing last.

Career

Edmond de Rothschild REIM Chief Investment Officer Europe & CEO UK 2025 – Present Pan-European platform leadership across fund management, investment strategy and capital raising. c. €13.7bn AUM across eight offices.

Ares Management Managing Director, Real Estate — DACH Region 2016 – 2025 Sourcing, underwriting and execution of value-add and opportunistic investments across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Peach Property Group Executive Chairman & CEO 2020 – 2024 Board leadership of a Swiss-listed residential platform through a growth phase to 27,500 apartments, €2.5bn GAV and 230 employees.

Starwood Capital Group Associate, European Real Estate 2013 – 2016 European real estate investment and asset management within one of the world's largest private equity real estate firms.

PIMCO Associate 2012 – 2013 Distressed credit and real estate debt at the world's largest bond manager.

N.M. Rothschild & Sons Analyst, Real Estate M&A 2006 – 2010 Real estate mergers and acquisitions advisory within one of the world's leading independent investment banks.

Education

Harvard Business School

MBA · 2010 – 2012

London School of Economics

BSc Philosophy & Economics · 2003 – 2006

UWC Waterford Kamhlaba

International Baccalaureate · 2001

Thought Pieces

European Real Estate in 2026: Back to Fundamentals, Forward with Selective Growth

Why income resilience, positioning, disciplined allocation and active asset management will define returns. First published in Green Street News, January 2026.

Publications

Peach Property Group — Annual Report 2023

Published as Executive Chairman. Record operating results including 5.1% like-for-like rental growth across a portfolio of 27,500 apartments in Germany.

Press

Q+A: EdR REIM — "2026 is an alpha year for us" Green Street News · Mar 2026

European Real Estate in 2026: Fundamentals First, Allocation Second, Timing Last Green Street News · Jan 2026

Appointment as CIO Europe & Executive Chairman UK Edmond de Rothschild · Jun 2025

Edmond de Rothschild REIM Poaches Ares Managing Director CoStar · Jun 2025

Appointed Executive Chair in the UK Property Week · Jun 2025

Joins Rothschild's Real Estate Leadership Team Estates Gazette · Jun 2025

Appointed CIO Europe IPE Real Assets · Jun 2025

Named European CIO to Spearhead Expansion PE Insights · Jun 2025

Appointed CIO Europe & Executive Chairman UK Europe Real Estate · Jun 2025

Appoints New Chief Investment Officer Europe BE News · Jun 2025

Nommé CIO Europe et Executive Chairman UK Allnews · Jun 2025

Edmond de Rothschild REIM mit neuem CIO investrends.ch · Jun 2025

Klaus Schmitz nominato CIO Europe Advisor Online · Jun 2025

Proposes New Board of Directors; Steps Down as Executive Chairman Peach Property · Apr 2024

Peach Property gibt sich komplett neuen Verwaltungsrat Immobilien Business · Apr 2024

Appointed Executive Chairman of the Board Peach Property · Oct 2023

Five Questions for Peach Property's Executive Chairman Green Street News

Ares Becomes Largest Shareholder in Peach Property; Schmitz Elected to Board Business Wire · Nov 2020

Ares und Forte kaufen Wohnungen in Kiel Immobilien Manager · Dec 2020

Ares Acquires 2,900 Residential Units Across Germany Business Wire · Feb 2020

Ares Management erwirbt bundesweit 2.900 Wohneinheiten Business Wire (DE) · Feb 2020

Links

LinkedIn Bloomberg MarketScreener Edmond de Rothschild REIM