The First State Global Listed Infrastructure Fund, managed by Peter Meany, head of global infrastructure securities business and Andrew Greenup, portfolio manager now has full registration in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland and is available to retail and institutional investors in these countries.
The Global Listed Infrastructure Fund highlights First State’s ambition to move away from competing within the crowded traditional asset classes and to provide more global and specialist products to European investors. It also further underlines First State’s growing position in both listed and unlisted infrastructure investments.
The infrastructure fund invests in global listed infrastructure and infrastructure-related stocks including toll roads, airports, ports, utilities, and oil and gas storage and transportation. The fund diversifies its investments by sector and geography, allocating approximately 40% to transport, 40% to utilities and 20% to energy infrastructure.
Mr Meany said: Infrastructure securities should deliver good risk-adjusted returns given the quality of the underlying assets, the need for significant new capital expenditure, increasingly supportive regulatory stances and ongoing privatizations. Global listed infrastructure has materially outperformed broader equity and property markets during the current credit crisis, highlighting the attractive opportunity the sector offers to those looking for a defensive asset class with sustainable growth.
