In 1996 Peter Haenseler – who at that time worked as a lawyer with Baer & Karrer in Zurich – was sent to Moscow to negotiate and conclude one of the first Russian-Swiss real estate development joint ventures. After successfully completing this project, Mr. Haenseler was asked by the client – the Marc Rich Group in Zug, Switzerland – to conclude more projects and build-up a portfolio. In 1997, Mr. Haenseler joined the Marc Rich Group and became a member of the senior management responsible for the Russian real estate market. During his employment with the Marc Rich Group until 2002, Mr. Haenseler concluded 8 real estate transactions building-up a track record. All transactions – also during the harsh Russian crises of 1998/1999 – were successful.
In 2002 Mr. Haenseler established PHI in Zug, Switzerland. In 2003 PHI moved its seat to Zurich, Switzerland.
Also in April 2002, PHI opened its first foreign office in Moscow and staffed it initially with 2 people.
In spring 2004, Leonid Chernyak joined PHI as a partner and shareholder. Today Peter Haenseler and Leonid Chernyak jointly hold 100% of the shares in PHI.
In November 2005, PHI opened its second foreign office in Krasnodar, a Russian city of around 1 million inhabitants, located in the south of Russia near the Black Sea.
The first product - PHI Russia Property I - was launched by PHI in summer 2002 (first closing in January 2003). PHI Russia Property I was established as a closed ended investment company in Guernsey. PHI Russia Property I invested in Russian real estate development projects which are developed, built and then sold-on. PHI Russia Property I was restructured in Fall 2009 and its assets were transfered to PHI Russia Property IB as a successor fund. PHI Russia Property IB has USD 12.6 million under management.
The second product, PHI Russia Property II, a Cayman Islands partnership following the same investment strategy as PHI Russia Property I, was launched in 2004 and closed in summer 2006. The Fund invested into 3 projects and was completed in Q4 2008.
In summer 2006, PHI Russia Property III was launched. PHI Russia Property III, a Cayman Islands investment company, followed a different strategy as the first two funds. The third investment vehicle followed a land improvement strategy, i.e. it acquired legally not fully established land rights and improved the status of these land rights by following various types of legal processes and privatization proceedings. Once the land rights had reached a marketable stage, the projects were sold. PHI Russia Property III successfully invested into 5 projects and was liquidated end of 2008.
PHI Russia Property IV was launched in summer 2007. PHI Russia Property IV is a Cayman Islands investment company, which follows a development strategy.
Currently, PHI Russia Property IV has USD 90.9 million under management. PHI Russia Property IV is open for new investors. The present subscription period ends March 31, 2012 at the then prevailing NAV.
Currently PHI employs 28 staff, in Zurich (2), Moscow (11) and Krasnodar (15).
