Key Takeaways
- Real assets are becoming dynamic systems shaped by technology and resilience
- Five forces redefine value: AI, cybersecurity, tokenisation, robotics, sustainability
- Digital, climate and cyber readiness drive performance and capital access
Real assets are no longer defined solely by their physical characteristics. Traditional real estate, digital infrastructure and energy systems are converging. Buildings now rely on compute power, cloud connectivity and embedded control systems to operate efficiently. Their performance increasingly depends on secure data flows and reliable, often renewable, power. Physical space, digital capability and energy resilience now operate as interdependent layers of value creation.
This convergence is reshaping how real assets are managed, valued and financed. Rising operating costs, tighter regulations, climate volatility and growing cyber risks mean performance is driven by how effectively physical, digital and energy systems are integrated. Real assets are evolving from static stores of value to intelligent operating platforms. Against this backdrop, five forces: AI, cybersecurity, tokenisation, robotics and sustainability are accelerating the transition and redefining institutional real assets strategy in 2026.
- Agentic AI
- Cybersecurity
- Blockchain & Tokenisation
- Physical AI & Robotics
- Sustainability, Climate & Energy
#1: Agentic AI
In real assets, the transition in AI has been dramatic. What began as experimentation is now firmly in execution territory. That growth trajectory is set to gather more steam. 97% of commercial real estate leaders have committed to AI solutions last year, and early deployments are showing up to 37% task automation in some markets.1
Agentic AI is one of the most important technology developments to watch in 2026. In a real estate context, agentic systems can include tasks such as reconciling invoices against contracts and purchase orders, monitoring compliance and dynamically adjusting actions based on inputs from documents, images and video.
Policy and capital deployment are supporting adoption. Frameworks such as the EU AI Act are providing clearer operating boundaries. At the same time, large scale public investment, including significant US infrastructure spending, is accelerating the use of AI in energy optimisation, predictive maintenance and operational decision support. For asset owners, the implications are tangible. Autonomous workflows have the potential to reduce operating costs by 20–30% and partially offset persistent labour shortages.
Policy and capital deployment are supporting adoption. Frameworks such as the EU AI Act are providing clearer operating boundaries. At the same time, large scale public investment, including significant US infrastructure spending, is accelerating the use of AI in energy optimisation, predictive maintenance and operational decision support. For asset owners, the implications are tangible. Autonomous workflows have the potential to reduce operating costs by 20–30% and partially offset persistent labour shortages.
Research Theme: Interpretable AI for Causal Analysis (Neural Network Explainability)
Strategic Relevance: As AI driven models are increasingly embedded in investment and operational processes, understanding why models produce specific outcomes becomes critical for governance, trust, and adoption. Interpretable causal methods reduce model risk and support high stakes decision making.
Research Partner: University College London
Target Outcome: Development of interpretable, decision relevant AI techniques specifically neural network based Granger causality methods using Kolmogorov Arnold Networks to identify causal drivers in complex time series data and enhance transparency in advanced analytics.
Collapse Section#2: Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity will become a key issue because the cost of failure is rising faster than the threats. Cybercrime costs are expected to exceed the current estimate of $10.5 trillion as digital connectivity increases. As vulnerabilities grow, firms are moving to AI enabled, pre emptive security.
The financial cost is already material. The average cost of a breach in real estate reached $4.44 million, driving a 17% increase in cyber spending across the sector.2
A cyber incident can have far-reaching consequences for real assets. It can shut down building operations, disrupt tenants, trigger regulatory scrutiny, and affect insurability. In 2026, cyber resilience will increasingly become part of asset quality, prompting investors to differentiate accordingly.
#3: Blockchain & Tokenisation
Tokenisation has been discussed for years, but 2026 is an inflection point. This is not because the technology has improved, but because regulation is finally catching up.
In the U.S., the SEC has taken a more pragmatic stance, increasingly distinguishing between speculative crypto assets and tokenised representations of real-world assets. While not a widespread relaxation, this shift has given institutions greater confidence to explore compliant tokenisation structures rather than stay on the sidelines.
Globally, the momentum is gathering steam. Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework has brought much-needed clarity, while financial hubs in Asia and the Middle East are actively positioning themselves as leaders in tokenised real-world assets. The result is regulatory convergence: different approaches, but a shared view that tokenisation is entering market infrastructure.
This matters because tokenised assets are projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030,3 and institutional pilots are already showing efficiency gains of up to 40% in capital formation and transaction processing.
In real estate, tokenisation is beginning to solve problems such as liquidity, settlement speed, and transparency, particularly in multifamily and commercial assets. For example, where traditional real estate transfers can take months, token transfers settle in minutes because smart contracts manage compliance, clearing and settlement is executed on the ledger, and title and ownership updates are instantaneous.
#4: Physical AI & Robotics
Physical AI and robotics are becoming a major force in real assets. Across sectors, including warehousing and coordination, automation helps keep assets operational amid labour shortages.
Investment in robotics is rising fast, with the market reaching $124 billion and expected to grow at a 14.4% CAGR through 2035.4 AI-driven maintenance alone can reduce downtime in industrial assets by around 25%, improving performance and returns. For example, AI guided drones can inspect rooftop HVAC units, solar panels and building façades, autonomously identifying malfunctioning components, compromised seals and debris accumulation. In real estate and infrastructure, robotics is helping maintain service levels, reduce disruption and fill gaps as global labour shortages intensify.
Research Theme: Synthetic Data and Demand Side Market Analytics
Strategic Relevance: High quality, granular market data is often sparse, lagged, or inconsistent across regions and asset classes. Synthetic data and advanced demand side analysis can materially enhance market insight, stress testing, and forward looking investment analysis particularly in emerging or opaque markets.
Research Partner: National University of Singapore
Target Outcome: Development of scalable data and analytics frameworks to support demand side modelling, scenario analysis, and market intelligence for local and regional real asset markets, strengthening investment decision making and portfolio strategy.
Collapse Section#5: Sustainability, Climate & Energy
Sustainability remains a defining priority in 2026, but the focus has matured. It is no longer limited to disclosure and reporting; it is now a core driver of value creation, risk management, and long term asset performance.
Growing climate and energy pressures reinforce this shift. Most institutional investors now anticipate that climate-related factors will have a material impact on asset pricing.
Stricter regulations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and new U.S. emissions requirements, are accelerating change. Broadly, sustainable properties command high valuation premiums, whilst sustainable fund assets neared $4 trillion in 2025.5 Energy efficiency is becoming a key focus, with 86% of S&P 500 companies now setting climate targets. In real estate, this translates into green retrofits and operational optimisation.
Research Theme: Embodied Carbon Calculation Model
Strategic Relevance: Understanding embodied carbon exposure will become increasingly material to asset valuation, regulatory alignment and portfolio resilience
Research Partner: University College London
Target Outcome: Development of decision-relevant carbon analytics supporting investment insight, risk assessment, and long-term asset strategy.
Collapse SectionImplications
The convergence of these powerful trends is fundamentally reshaping how real asset portfolios should be valued, managed and future proofed. Assets that demonstrate strong operational capability from data driven decision making and predictive maintenance to cyber readiness and energy efficiency are likely to benefit from lower operating costs, durable income streams and better access to capital.
In 2026, the gap between leaders and laggards will widen. Cyber exposure, climate resilience and digital readiness are no longer peripheral considerations but increasingly determine value. Tokenisation, digital infrastructure and regulatory developments are accelerating how these factors are priced into underwriting and capital allocation. The opportunity for investors is to embed these structural shifts into strategy, due diligence and asset management now, before they become baseline market expectations.
What Matters Next
These trends are not only reshaping the market; they are directly shaping the research agenda. Work is focused on developing practical AI tools that enable faster, more confident investment decisions, including models for rental price forecasting, asset level risk assessment and real time underwriting support. Sustainability research is also accelerating, with active initiatives in HVAC optimisation and embodied carbon analytics aimed at reducing operating costs and improving lifecycle performance. In parallel, early blockchain based solutions are being developed to enhance transparency and lay the groundwork for future tokenised transactions in real assets.
Taken together, these initiatives ensure that research efforts go beyond tracking industry trends, translating them into applied solutions that support long term value creation for investors and real asset platforms.
1 Oct 2024, BDO, AI in Real Estate, Jan 2026
2 IBM, Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, Jan 2026
3 Sept 2022, BCD, Asset Tokenisation projected to grow fifty times into $16 trillion opportunity by 2030, Jan 2026
4 Dec 2025, Precedence Research, Robotics Technology Market Size, Share and Trends 2026-2035, Jan 2026
5 Morningstar, Global Sustainable Fund Flows: Q3 2025 in Review, Jan 2026
