Everything You Need to Know About Pierre Papier Real Estate Investing in France
Updated on 30 July 2026
In France, pierre papier (literally "paper stone", the term for indirect real-estate investing through dedicated funds) is an alternative to buying property directly, with its own risk, return and liquidity profile.
- The entry ticket for pierre papier starts at a few hundred euros, compared with an average of €100,000 for a direct real-estate investment.
- SCPI suits a long horizon of at least 8 to 10 years, while SIIC, listed on the stock exchange, offers near-daily liquidity.
- Borrowing to finance pierre papier remains difficult, except for a few SCPI, which limits the leverage available.
- OPCI combines real estate, cash and financial products to offer a compromise between the stability of SCPI and the liquidity of SIIC.
Pierre papier: an appealing real-estate investment solution?
SCPI (a French non-listed real-estate investment fund, comparable to a REIT), OPCI (a French open-ended collective real-estate investment vehicle), SIIC (a French listed real-estate investment trust)… Behind these acronyms lies a real-estate investment approach that has become especially popular: pierre papier. Investing in pierre papier means investing in real estate ("pierre", stone) indirectly, through funds dedicated to real-estate investment ("papier", paper). In other words, you can benefit from the performance of the underlying real estate without actually owning it.
So pierre papier investing can offer investors many advantages, provided of course that you select the fund with the right characteristics for your savings goals!
How does a pierre papier investment work?
A pierre papier investment works like a company: you buy units or shares, which entitle you to a share of the rental income and to voting rights, while property management is delegated to professionals.
Broadly speaking, pierre papier is structured as a company whose share capital is divided into units or shares (depending on its legal form). These securities can be subscribed by investors when the company is set up, during a capital increase, or bought on the secondary market. They grant investors two notable rights:
- a right to profits in proportion to the share of capital held
- a right to vote on decisions falling within the power of the general meeting (the investors)
In other words, when you invest in pierre papier you receive securities (shares or units). These entitle you to a share of the profits or dividends each year, based on the company's financial performance. In a pierre papier investment, your return is thus entirely tied to the performance of the real estate assets held.
You will also be able to vote on major decisions to shape the company's strategy and management. This clearly resembles a traditional business.
However, the pierre papier company commits to reinvesting the money raised from investors (through the subscription of securities) into several properties, following a strategy defined in advance.
For example, some SCPI focus on residential rental property, while others invest exclusively in buildings eligible for the French "Malraux" tax scheme, allowing investors to offset tax on their other sources of income.
Why invest in pierre papier?
Pierre papier offers many comparative advantages over direct property investment. According to ASPIM, real-estate investment funds (SCPI, OPCI, SCI) held €287 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2025, a sign of how mature this market has become.
- The entry ticket is much lower than for a direct freehold investment: from a few hundred to a few thousand euros depending on the SCPI, compared with €100,000 for an apartment. This limits your risk of overexposure to the property market.
- Some real-estate investment company shares can be held via a life insurance policy or a capitalisation contract.
- Pierre papier funds are made up of many properties, which increases the level of diversification in your portfolio.
- The selection of property opportunities and rental management are handled by professionals.
- Historical returns observed should be weighed against the level of risk (capital loss, illiquidity).
That said, pierre papier does not only have advantages. By investing in pierre papier, you entrust your savings to a third party and therefore become dependent on the fund being well managed. In addition, because the underlying assets are complex to manage, management fees are significant.
Finally, be aware that financing a pierre papier investment with a mortgage will be difficult. Only an SCPI investment can, in certain cases, win your bank's approval.
Finary's take: The difficulty of using a mortgage to invest in pierre papier is a significant drawback. Indeed, one of the major appeals of real-estate investing lies in the ability to potentially amplify returns (and, symmetrically, losses) through leverage, it being noted that leverage also amplifies losses when the market falls.
The different forms of pierre papier investment
Before going into detail on each type of pierre papier investment, it's worth taking a quick look at the options available to you.
Today, there are four main investment options within pierre papier:
- SCPI (société civile de placement immobilier), which can be divided into 3 categories: income-producing SCPI, capital-gains SCPI and tax SCPI.
- SIIC or S2IC (société d'investissement immobilier cotée)
- OPCI (organisme de placement collectif immobilier), itself divided into two categories: SPPICAV (société à prépondérance immobilière à capital variable, a variable-capital real-estate investment company) and FPI (fonds de placement immobilier, a real-estate fund taxed on a look-through basis).
- Real-estate ETFs, a fund of funds (or index fund) that pools several SIIC together to replicate their performance.
Which pierre papier should you invest in?
To invest well in pierre papier, you need to select the right type of vehicle and then choose the fund that best matches your portfolio.
To help you, we have put together a comparison of the different pierre papier investments. We deliberately left out capital-gains SCPI and tax SCPI, since they work in too specific a way to be compared objectively. Our analysis therefore focuses on pierre papier investments offering regular returns in the form of income shares or dividends.
| Income-producing SCPI | SIIC | OPCI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average return over 5 years (excluding unit/share price appreciation)* | 4% | 6% | 4% |
| Notable characteristics | – 8% notary fees on unit purchases | – SIIC shares are listed on a regulated market- exempt from corporate tax | – diversified asset composition |
| Liquidity | Low | High | Medium to high |
| Volatility | Low | High | Medium |
| Fund tax regime | Look-through | Exempt from corporate tax | Corporate tax (SPPICAV) or look-through (FPI) |
| Tax treatment of income shares or dividends paid | Depends on the nature of the income generated by the SCPI and the investor's tax situation (property income, real-estate capital gains) | PFU (flat tax of 31.4%) or your marginal income tax rate with a 40% allowance | – SPPICAV: same regime as SIIC- FPI: same regime as SCPI |
| Tax treatment on disposal | Real-estate capital gains regime | Securities capital gains regime or PFU | – SPPICAV: same regime as SIIC- FPI: same regime as SCPI |
| Ideal investment horizon | >10 years | >2 years | >6 years |
| Management fees | High | High | High |
Income-producing SCPI: replicating a direct property investment
If you want to replicate the characteristics of a direct property investment as closely as possible without the hassle of managing it yourself, SCPI can be an option worth considering. To go further, read our complete guide to investing in SCPI.
As well as offering relatively similar performance, the rent collected by the SCPI is taxable as property income (due to the look-through tax treatment), and the sale of units benefits from the holding-period allowance under the real-estate capital-gains regime.
In addition, you can potentially take out a mortgage to acquire units, which can amplify returns, while taking into account the increased risk linked to debt.
However, be aware that acquiring SCPI units is subject to the same notary fees as a traditional property investment, i.e. 8%. These fees significantly affect your investment's short-term returns.
Investing in an SCPI can suit a long-term investment horizon (8 to 10 years minimum), for example to prepare for retirement or to build up a deposit for a second home.
If you are looking for more liquidity over a shorter horizon, you should look toward SIIC or OPCI instead.
SIIC: a medium-term pierre papier investment
A notable feature of SIIC is the continuous listing of its shares on a regulated market. This means investors can liquidate their positions instantly while still benefiting from real-estate performance. For a full overview, read our article on listed real-estate companies (SIIC).
In addition, applying the 31.4% flat tax (PFU) to dividends received and capital gains on disposal can be attractive for investors already in high income-tax brackets, even though the SIIC itself is exempt from corporate tax.
However, the listing of SIIC shares is also its Achilles' heel. As with shares in listed companies, share prices can undergo strong volatility in the short term, exposing investors to a significant short-term risk.
A minimum investment horizon of 2 years is generally recommended for a SIIC.
OPCI: diversification and liquidity
OPCI have gone through periods of negative returns, notably during the 2020 health crisis, illustrating the risk of capital loss. Yet this type of pierre papier has real strengths:
- Its assets are more diversified than SIIC or SCPI, since up to 30% of its holdings can be made up of financial products to generate performance.
- Depending on the tax treatment you want, you can choose an FPI for look-through taxation or an SPPICAV for the flat tax.
- The fund holds a mandatory liquidity reserve that allows it to buy back investors' units (to a certain extent) to ensure the investment's liquidity.
OPCI is therefore a hybrid form of pierre papier, halfway between SIIC and SCPI, capable of offering a more diversified asset base.
Goals
Frequently asked questions
What are the advantages of a pierre papier investment?
Pierre papier offers an accessible entry ticket from just a few hundred euros, strong diversification across multiple properties, rental management delegated to professionals, and several possible tax regimes depending on the vehicle chosen: SCPI, OPCI or SIIC.
What are the different ways to invest in pierre papier?
There are four main families of pierre papier: SCPI (société civile de placement immobilier), OPCI (organisme de placement collectif immobilier), SIIC (société d'investissement immobilier cotée) and real-estate ETFs, which replicate the performance of several SIIC.
What is the taxation of pierre papier?
Taxation depends on the vehicle chosen: SCPI income falls under the property-income regime, SIIC dividends are subject to the 31.4% flat tax or the progressive income-tax scale, and OPCI applies the tax regime of its underlying component, SPPICAV or FPI.
What is the minimum amount to invest in pierre papier?
The entry ticket varies depending on the vehicle chosen: a few hundred to a few thousand euros are enough for an SCPI unit, while a listed SIIC or real-estate ETF can be bought for the price of a single share on the stock market.
Sources
Wikipedia, flat tax (PFU) rate as of 1 January 2026: 31.4%
Impots.gouv.fr, official portal for the taxation of investment income
Regulatory disclaimers: Marketing communication. Investing carries a risk of partial or total capital loss. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article is provided for information and educational purposes only; it does not constitute personalised investment advice, a buy or sell recommendation, or tax advice. This investment carries a liquidity risk (no guaranteed resale, long horizon) and a risk of capital loss. Income and valuations are not guaranteed. Before investing, read the Key Information Document (KID) and, where relevant, consult an authorised adviser. Finary SAS, an investment firm authorised by the ACPR (no. 19283), member of AMAFI. Insurance broker registered with ORIAS (no. 21001279), member of the CNCGP (association approved by the AMF). Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorised by the AMF under the MiCA regime, references no. A2026-026 and no. N2026-008.
