In real estate investing, desirability and value famously depend on “location, location, location”. Yet frequent and fierce weather events increasingly threaten assets and portfolios. Investors need to know whether prospective locations could get hit by natural hazards such as hurricanes, flooding, or wildfires. 

This is where RCLCO Fund Advisors (RFA) comes in. As part of its standard due diligence process, the Los Angeles-based real estate advisory firm incorporates climate risk data into its analysis. Identifying vulnerable regions or sites helps RFA minimize risk, mitigate damage, and maximize returns for institutional investors.

In 2022, RFA began including climate risk analysis and data from Munich Re’s Location Risk Intelligence Platform as part of its services. The SaaS solution provides rating scores from “very low” to “very high” risk across various hazard categories. When advising clients, RFA uses this information as a clue to move forward, or whether they should investigate further. 

RFA focuses on acute risks (hurricanes and floods) and chronic risks (sea level rise). Location Risk Intelligence also offers advanced climate risk modelling, including the ability to toggle across projected future climate scenarios. Using this feature, RFA can uncover how climate change might affect locations in the decades to come.

RFA primarily uses Location Risk Intelligence for clients who are considering property development or asset acquisition. The platform’s climate risk data supports several stages in the process, among them:

Due diligence. Before recommending any investment, RFA runs a climate risk analysis. This helps the advisors identify past, possible, or likely hazard events and assess the long-term viability of a property.

Portfolio management. For existing clients, RFA regularly updates climate risk assessments at the portfolio level. They can track risks by property type, investment vehicle, and geography, to pinpoint vulnerabilities.

Customised reporting. By exporting data from the platform, RFA can create customised reports for their clients. With the clear, concise format of the reports, clients quickly comprehend risk criticality.

Climate conditions continue to change. The comprehensive data and analysis provided by Location Risk Intelligence helps RFA and their clients turn risks into opportunities:

Better decisions. The map view and overlays make it easy to visualise climate risks. RFA’s clients can make more informed choices.

Client trust. Reliable data builds trust. RFA’s clients know they can count on accurate, actionable climate risk insights.

Competitive edge. Advanced modelling capabilities and future risk scenarios help RFA stay ahead of the curve, and ahead of their competitors.