At first glance, Hines’ recent purchase of a sprawling self-storage facility on the outskirts of downtown Chicago is a contrast to the gleaming office towers or luxury storefronts for which it is known.

But the industrial property underscores the global real estate firm’s new investment motto: It’s all about the fundamentals.

“Real estate assets tend to perform best when fundamentals matter more than sentiment,” Alfonso Munk, Hines’ global co-head of investment management, told CoStar News. In other words: It’s not about flashy buildings; it’s about underlying performance.

In the face of mounting geopolitical and economic uncertainty, the Houston-based investment manager is focusing on acquisitions targeted toward real estate uses…