Alternative real estate investments are playing a growing role in wealth management, becoming a strategic lever for diversifying portfolios and targeting returns uncorrelated with listed markets.
This trend reflects the search for stability and tools tied to the real economy.
Yeldo Group, a company specializing in real estate private credit, finds itself in this context. What are the current opportunities and prospects for this asset class? Antonio Borgonovo, founder and CEO of the company, explains.
Making real estate private credit accessible
“For us, accessibility means allowing qualified investors to participate in private debt transactions with underlying real estate through a rapid and transparent process,” explains Borgonovo. “It’s not just about breaking down operational barriers, but about enabling access to institutional-level transactions, with double-digit returns and a real underlying.”
Alternative real estate investments: opportunities in an underserved market
Yeldo’s mission is to democratize access to real estate investments through a digital process and offer alternative financing to developers to optimize their capital structure.
Three key features distinguish Yeldo’s projects from others.
The first concerns the market segment they operate in. “We focus on real estate transactions between €10 and €50 million, which are too large for individual private investors and often unattractive for large funds. It is in this segment that we see the most interesting opportunities,” Borgonovo explains.
The second distinguishing feature concerns the product structure: “Investors don’t subscribe to a brick and mortar, but rather private credit instruments backed by real estate collateral. These are solutions that combine double-digit returns with structured guarantee packages to protect capital.”
Finally, the third relates to the project selection process. “We analyze hundreds of transactions a year and approve only a small portion,” emphasizes Yeldo’s CEO. “Our team comes from investment banking, private equity, and real estate backgrounds. It is this rigorous process that allows us to offer opportunities comparable to institutional standards.”
Decorrelation and Connection to the Real Economy
One of the most significant advantages is the decorrelation from financial markets. “The returns of our instruments do not depend on the performance of listed markets, but on concrete real estate projects. Investors access secured private credit instruments, in which cash flows are tied to the progress and success of the underlying transaction,” explains Borgonovo. “In practice, the return derives from a real estate project’s ability to generate value through development, transformation, or urban regeneration. It is this direct connection to the real economy that makes Yeldo investments decorrelated to the volatility of traditional financial markets.”
New Investor Trends in the Real Estate Market
In recent years, professional investors have changed their approach to private markets. “We see three main trends,” Borgonovo explains. “First: a growing allocation to real estate private credit, driven by the search for stable and uncorrelated returns. Second: a greater focus on geographic and sector diversification, with a focus on residential, living, and hospitality. Third: an increasingly strong demand for transparency and structured protections, with clear guarantee packages to protect investors.”
Italy’s Laggard in Private Markets
While private credit is a consolidated reality in Europe, this market remains marginal in Italy. According to AIFI, private credit accounts for less than 2% of the credit market, compared to a much higher European average.
Why? “The reason is twofold: on the one hand, the heavy dependence on the banking channel, on the other, the lack of familiarity with alternative instruments,” Borgonovo points out.
This is where Yeldo comes in: “We are positioning ourselves precisely in that intermediate segment that neither banks nor large funds effectively cover, offering professional investors structured and transparent real estate opportunities. This is not an ‘exotic’ alternative, but a concrete way to fill a real market gap.”
The Future: Standardization and Growth of Private Credit
Looking ahead to the next 5-10 years, Borgonovo has no doubts about the future of alternative real estate investments: “Alternative investments in real estate, especially through private credit, are becoming increasingly important. The global market has exceeded $1.5 trillion, and in Europe, interest in resilient assets such as residential, living, and logistics is growing,” says the CEO.
The search for uncorrelated returns and the progressive reduction in bank credit will drive ever-increasing capital into this asset class. “Yeldo has already begun a process to facilitate access to this type of investment. But looking ahead, we want to help bring greater standardization and transparency, aggregate cross-border deal flows, and contribute to building a more mature regulated ecosystem. It is along these lines that we envision our role over the next 10 years,” concludes Borgonovo.
