UK pension funds are increasingly favouring alternatives, with the average asset allocation rising to 9 percent in 2010, according to Mercer.
UK pension funds are increasingly favouring alternatives, with the average asset allocation rising to 9 percent in 2010, according to Mercer.
Why are some pensions much keener on infrastructure than others? The role of consultants may be key.
Alistair Darling will unveil the UK budget for 2010 tomorrow, with infrastructure expected to play an important role in stimulating the economy. The latest news indicates that a £2bn green infrastructure fund is on the cards. InfrastructureInvestor.com assesses pre-budget expectations.
The Australian toll road operator said early last week that it will issue A$250m of bonds to help repay debt – its first Australian bond issue since 2006. Transurban has A$195m of debt maturing in June.
Against a recent fad of country- and sector-specific funds, Glenn Uren, managing director at New York-based Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors, underlines the importance of pan-continent real estate investment funds in Asia.
Why limited partner capital could be finding its way into the wrong funds.
The EU's €1.5bn Marguerite infrastructure fund has reached its first close with over €700m in commitments. Malta’s Bank of Valletta, Portugal’s Caixa Geral de Depósitos and the European Commission have joined the six core sponsors of the fund. The fund will primarily target greenfields with daily operations run from Paris.
The UK government should publish liabilities from private finance initiatives alongside public sector net debt figures with explanations showing how much risk has been transferred from the taxpayer, a parliamentary select committee said yesterday.
New Zealand investment firm Morrison & Co and investment advisory firm Craigs Investment Partners have teamed up to raise as much as $125m for a fund focused on social infrastructure opportunities in New Zealand.
The Australian investor has been named preferred bidder for the FARAC III road concession, its first Mexican project following its recent first close on its debut Mexican infrastructure fund. FARAC III is expected to be officially awarded in three weeks time.
In a sign that the private equity firm is placing increased focus on the asset class, AXA Private Equity could double its infrastructure assets under management with its latest fundraise.
Senior figures from the fund of funds industry say that consolidation in the sector is inevitable.
In the March 2010 issue of Infrastructure Investor magazine, Alinda Capital Partners’ managing partner Christopher Beale claims that the bubble years were effectively a 'laboratory experiment' for infrastructure investment. When GPs misplaced the fundamentals of sound investing, the experiment went wrong.
In a recent interview, Citadel Capital founder and chairman Ahmed Heikal told Infrastructure Investor why he has so much confidence in East Africa that he is prepared to invest up to $400m in the region over the next couple of years.