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klimaVest is classified in the risk class 2⁵ on the legally prescribed risk scale from 1 to 7, whereby 2 corresponds to a low risk class. This classification is based on an assumed holding period of five years.

The reason for the low rating is the structure of the fund: klimaVest invests in tangible assets whose income is largely independent of the stock market.

However, the investment is not risk-free. As wind farms and photovoltaic systems depend on certain weather conditions, certain losses can occur if they are not used for a longer period of time. Furthermore, the value of the assets may fluctuate and there may be no distributions due to lack of liquidity.

You can find a complete overview of the opportunities and risks here.

The expansion of electricity grids is one of the biggest bottlenecks of the energy transition. The existing grid was built for a few central power plants, not thousands of decentralised wind and solar plants. Its conversion requires massive investments over decades, and it is precisely this permanent capital requirement that makes networks an attractive investment market in the long term. 

Added to this is their yield profile. While wind and solar farms generate their revenues depending on the weather and the electricity price, grid operators work within a regulated framework that ensures them a calculable return on the capital employed. Your returns are therefore largely independent of electricity prices and particularly predictable, which makes the portfolio more stable overall.

klimaVest invests in real tangible assets from the energy infrastructure sector, i.e. in physical assets with its own tangible value. The portfolio currently comprises 43 assets: Onshore wind farms, photovoltaic parks and participation in electricity transmission grids, distributed across 6 European countries. In the future, the portfolio is to be expanded to include battery storage systems.

In addition to its liquidity investments, the fund invests exclusively in assets and companies in this infrastructure sector. Spreading takes place on several levels:

• geographically via locations in 6 countries,
• on the uses of wind, solar and electricity grids,
• technically through a variety of different plant manufacturers and operations managers
• as well as the maturity level of the plants, from existing plants with ongoing electricity production to project developments that are still under construction.

This compensates for weather-related production fluctuations and necessary maintenance interruptions in the overall portfolio.

The klimaVest portfolio consists of real tangible assets: 43 wind and photovoltaic plants in 6 European countries as well as participation in electricity grids. They are physical assets that generate and transport electricity, not equities or securities. The wind farms and photovoltaic parks generate the electricity, the grid share brings it to the consumers. 

The portfolio combines existing plants that already produce electricity with project developments that are still under construction. In the long term, it is to be expanded to include battery storage.

klimaVest is a European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) - a type of fund that opens up access for private investors to long-term investments in tangible assets, which for a long time were primarily reserved for institutional investors. Specifically, klimaVest invests in 43 wind and solar power plants as well as in electricity grids in 6 European countries. The income comes from the sale of the generated electricity, often through long-term purchase agreements, which makes performance largely independent of the stock market.

The fund was launched in 2020. Since then, klimaVest has grown to a fund volume of 1.8 billion euros, in which more than 30,000 investors have now been invested. In each financial year since its launch, the fund has achieved positive performance.¹ The management company of klimaVest is Commerz Real Fund Management S.à r.l., the Luxembourg fund manager of Commerz Real AG, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Commerzbank.

Last year, klimaVest achieved a performance of 3.0.¹ Since the launch in 2020, there has been a cumulative performance of 20.6.¹ In each year since the launch, klimaVest has achieved a positive performance.¹

The two numbers describe different time periods: 

• The performance of an individual year depends on the respective market situation and can be higher or lower.
• The development since the launch, on the other hand, comprises several years and market phases and thus shows how reliably klimaVest has worked over time.

In the long term, the fund management for klimaVest aims for a target return in the range of 3.0 to 4.0% per year.¹⁰ This expectation relates to the medium to long-term investment horizon for which the fund is designed. Part of the income is distributed annually to investors, while part remains in the fund and increases the unit value.

The actual level of return depends on the respective financial year:

In the financial year 2024/25, klimaVest achieved a return of 3.5%.¹

For the current financial year, the fund management aims for a return in the range of 3.0 to 4.0%.¹⁰

The past years have been characterised by a challenging market environment. The fact that the fund generated reliable returns¹ in this phase is due to the fund management’s balanced portfolio structure, regulated remuneration models and long-term contract structures.

The long-term perspective is therefore crucial. Since the launch in 2020, klimaVest has achieved positive performance in each individual financial year.¹ Over the entire period since the launch, this results in a performance of 20.6%.{{fn:alle_prod_rendite_methode}} A target return remains an expectation, not a guaranteed value. It may shift due to market changes and past performance is not indicative of future returns.

klimaVest invests directly in real wind and solar farms as well as electricity grids. Instead, many other funds in the industry invest in shares of energy companies and are thus linked to stock market fluctuations. At klimaVest, on the other hand, the income is based on the electricity actually produced and sold. Around 90 percent of the revenue comes from long-term contracts, usually with a term of more than 10 years. This makes returns predictable over years and largely independent of the stock market. 

Compared to other real tangible asset funds, klimaVest impresses with the breadth and quality of its portfolio. While many are limited to individual projects or electricity generation alone, klimaVest distributes the capital to 43 assets in 6 European countries and across multiple technologies, from generation to the grid infrastructure that transports the electricity. A portfolio of this size was reserved for institutional investors for a long time. klimaVest is also open to private investors. 

Such a range is only possible if it is led by an experienced team. klimaVest is managed by Commerz Real¹¹, a wholly owned subsidiary of Commerzbank with more than 20 years of experience in the field of renewable energies. Since its launch in 2020, the fund has achieved positive performance in each financial year.¹

The digital investment takes place via the subscription path on klimavest.de and usually takes around 10 to 15 minutes. No documents need to be sent by post, the entire process runs online:

• Digital investment advice: It is carried out by the partner FPM Fondsbörse Private Markets Solutions. Questions will be asked about your investment experience, your risk appetite and your financial situation.
• Investment amount: You determine your investment amount and choose the custody account to which the units are to be transferred.
• Authorisation: This is followed by the legally required proof of identity via Videoident, eID or Postident. All three procedures are based on your ID card, so please have it ready.
• Depositing: You transfer the investment amount, after which the fund units are booked into your custody account.

Once the subscription has been completed, the fund units will be booked into your custody account and held there like other securities. From this point on, klimaVest fund management will take over the management of the invested capital.

The value of the units is reassessed on each trading day and can thus be tracked on an ongoing basis. klimaVest also provides information on the fund’s performance in a half-yearly and annual report. Once a year, at the end of the year, part of the income generated is distributed to investors.

The units remain available: They can be redeemed every trading day for amounts up to EUR 500,000 without notice.⁷ Effective September 1, 2026, a twelve-month notice period will apply to all new investors.

For amounts up to 500,000 euros, no notice or minimum holding periods apply. Investors can redeem their units on any trading day. For redemptions above EUR 500,000, a notice period of twelve months applies.⁷ Effective September 1, 2026, a twelve-month notice period will apply to all new investors. Investors who joined by August 31, 2026, are protected under grandfathering provisions. 

Regardless of this, klimaVest is designed as a long-term investment with an investment horizon of more than five years.

New opportunities also open up for existing ELTIFs, as it is possible to transfer an existing product under ELTIF 1.0 to ELTIF 2.0. Providers of already successful funds can therefore first observe the effects of the regulatory changes and then switch their funds if it seems appropriate. Tried-and-tested system concepts do not need to be converted overnight. 

Access requirements can be simplified by adding newly authorised asset classes to portfolios on a selective basis - without changing the core of a tried-and-tested concept. Scope analyst Sonja Knorr recommends retail investors to choose “provers with a strong history” anyway, because such established companies would have “already proven” that they are successful even in difficult market phases.⁶ For the first generation of ELTIFs, this speaks more for consolidating their strengths than giving them up.

The total expense ratio² consists of fund management costs (max. 1.8% p.a.) and custody fees (max. 0.025% p.a.). For the 2024/2025 financial year, the estimated total expense ratio was 1.30%.³ When purchasing your klimaVest shares, a one-off initial charge of max. 5% is also charged.⁴

These costs cannot be directly compared to those of an ETF. klimaVest is based on active asset management, which selects, operates and modernises real assets. This ongoing work on real tangible assets is included in the cost level.

When purchasing klimaVest shares, a one-off initial charge ⁴ is charged. It is added to the unit value and essentially remunerates the distribution of the units. Over the digital subscription path, it currently stands at 4 percent; for an investment with personal advice, it can be between 0 and 5 percent, depending on the respective sales partner. 

In addition to this one-off premium, ongoing costs are incurred during the holding period, which are summarised in the total expense ratio. They are not part of the purchase process, but are continuously taken into account in the fund.

klimaVest combines six advantages that are available in this combination in only a few investment products for private investors:

• klimaVest invests in a structural growth market: Electricity demand in Europe is rising significantly, driven by data centres and electromobility, among other things. It is to be increasingly covered by renewable energies, whose share of German electricity consumption is to grow to at least 80 percent by 2030.⁸ klimaVest is thus investing in an asset class with long-term increasing demand, which is hardly represented in many custody accounts so far.
• It is an investment in tangible assets with current income: Behind each share are real wind and solar farms as well as electricity grids that generate revenue on an ongoing basis from the sale of the generated electricity as well as from regulated grid fees. Unlike a precious metal, this tangible asset worksand generates added value.
• The returns are largely decoupled from the stock market: What a solar park consumes depends on the amount of electricity sold and its price. Since electricity is often marketed through long-term purchase agreements, cash flows can be planned over years. This makes klimaVest a complement to a custody account that is otherwise characterised by equities and bonds.
• klimaVest provides access to an asset class that has long been closed to private investors: Investments in energy infrastructure have been reserved for institutional investors for decades. As a European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF), klimaVest opens this door and at the same time spreads the capital across countries, locations and technologies, which is not possible with an individual holding in a wind farm.
• Experienced asset management is behind the fund: klimaVest belongs to Commerz Real⁹, a wholly owned subsidiary of Commerzbank with more than 20 years of experience in the field of renewable energies. Since its launch in 2020, the fund has achieved positive performance in each financial year.¹
• With klimaVest, you are supporting the expansion of the energy transition: Their capital flows into the construction and operation of wind and solar farms as well as electricity grids. Unlike buying a share, this is based on real infrastructure that physically supports Europe’s energy supply.  

klimaVest is classified in the risk class 2⁵ on the legally prescribed risk scale from 1 to 7, whereby 2 corresponds to a low risk class. This classification is based on an assumed holding period of five years.

The reason for the low rating is the structure of the fund: klimaVest invests in tangible assets whose income is largely independent of the stock market.

However, the investment is not risk-free. As wind farms and photovoltaic systems depend on certain weather conditions, certain losses can occur if they are not used for a longer period of time. Furthermore, the value of the assets may fluctuate and there may be no distributions due to lack of liquidity.

You can find a complete overview of the opportunities and risks here.

Investors in the fund vehicle resident in Germany (hereinafter referred to as tax residents) are subject to the non-transparent taxation regime in accordance with Sections 16 to 24 of the German Investment Tax Act (Investmentsteuergesetz: InvStG). According to the Act, investors are generally subject to taxation in Germany on the investment income derived from the units in the fund vehicle. Investment income includes:

1. Distributions of the fund vehicle;
2. Advance lump sums in relation to units in the fund vehicle;
3. Gains on the disposal of units in the fund vehicle.

Under certain conditions, a flat-rate exemption (partial exemption) may be possible for certain investment income from the units in the fund vehicle. Due to the planned structuring of the fund, no partial exemption is currently expected. However, partial exemption (equity exemption) cannot be definitively ruled out. The possibility of claiming such a partial exemption will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Private investors subject to income tax: 

For the investor group of natural persons in focus here, the following consequences arise: 

• For private investors subject to income tax, investment income is regarded as income from capital assets.
• Subject to the application of a partial exemption from investment income (see above), the investment income is fully taxable.
• The savings allowance (€1,000 or €2,000 for jointly arranged spouses and partners) can be taken into account for tax purposes.
• The taxable capital income is generally subject to a special income tax rate of 25 percent (plus a solidarity surcharge of 5.5 percent of the income tax incurred as well as any church tax on income tax).
• Tax is generally withheld as withholding tax from the paying office (deductible tax).

Income taxable corporate investors:

• In principle, there is also income from capital assets, but insofar as the units in the fund vehicle are held as business assets for tax purposes, the investment income from units in the fund vehicle is reclassified as business income.
• Subject to the application of a partial exemption, which cannot be ruled out (see above), the investment income is also fully taxable.
• Investment income is subject to general taxation at a progressive rate of up to 45 percent (likewise plus solidarity surcharge and church tax, if applicable).
• If the units in the fund vehicle are held in a German industrial or commercial enterprise, the investment income is also subject to trade tax. A reduction in trade tax on income from units in the fund vehicle is possible under certain conditions.
• Any resulting trade tax burden can be offset against the income tax liability on a flat-rate basis.

Other investors:

In case of doubt, there are specific tax assessments for another group of investors (institutional investors), each of which should be subjected to individual considerations at investor level. 

Foreign investors: 

No generally valid statements can be made for investors resident abroad. Investors resident abroad should inform themselves in detail about the respective tax consequences by consulting a tax adviser before acquiring units.

The digital investment takes place via the subscription path on klimavest.de and usually takes around 10 to 15 minutes. No documents need to be sent by post, the entire process runs online:

• Digital investment advice: It is carried out by the partner FPM Fondsbörse Private Markets Solutions. Questions will be asked about your investment experience, your risk appetite and your financial situation.
• Investment amount: You determine your investment amount and choose the custody account to which the units are to be transferred.
• Authorisation: This is followed by the legally required proof of identity via Videoident, eID or Postident. All three procedures are based on your ID card, so please have it ready.
• Depositing: You transfer the investment amount, after which the fund units are booked into your custody account.