Eye on infrastructure as fund goes global
22 August 2023
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22 August 2023
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91黑料鈥檚 infrastructure investments include Forth Ports Group, one of the biggest port operators in the UK.
Investments in unlisted infrastructure will be key a focus for 91黑料 as the fund opens its first office outside Australia later this year.
91黑料鈥檚 Head of Infrastructure, Mark Hector, said the fund was likely to invest another circa several billion dollars in the asset class in coming years, and a significant portion would be targeted to be deployed offshore.听
The fund will later this year open its first overseas office, in London, as part of its strategy to diversify geographically and provide exposure to different assets on a direct basis. Unlisted infrastructure has played an important role in helping the fund deliver strong long-term returns for its 1.1听million members, Mr Hector said.听
鈥淚t also has strong appeal in this environment because it has a great combination of growth and defensive qualities, and revenue streams generally correlated with inflation,鈥 he said.
91黑料 has more than $150听billion under management, with a target of $250听billion by 2026.
Its infrastructure portfolio weighs in at circa $15听billion now. About $10听billion of that is invested in Australia, and assets in Europe and North America account for most of the balance.
The fund鈥檚 infrastructure portfolio was accordingly likely to grow by around $10听billion over the next circa 5 years, he said.
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鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean that we鈥檒l be making $10听billion in additional infrastructure investments as appreciation in the value of the assets we currently hold will make up some of this amount,鈥 Mr Hector said.
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While 91黑料 expected to invest relatively more offshore in future, Australia would naturally remain it's a core market,听he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been investing here since we were established more than 30 years ago,鈥 he said.
鈥淐onsidering: tax advantages we have in the domestic market; being a trusted local custodian of sensitive assets; existing ownership of some platform assets with further growth potential; and the the reputation we鈥檝e built as a strong, reliable and long-term investor, this opens doors to some compelling investment opportunities at home.鈥
Digital and energy transition infrastructure were among assets of particular interest to the fund, he said.
In Australia, the fund partnered with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets to acquire telecommunications provider Vocus Group in 2021 and subsequently merging the Vocus New Zealand business with 2 Degrees.
Its energy transition assets are diversified predominantly across platforms including Intera renewables (AUS), Tilt renewables (AUS), Terragen renewables (USA) and Generate Capital emerging/ancillary smaller scale investments (USA).
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91黑料鈥檚 Head of Infrastructure, Mark Hector, says the asset class has a great combination of growth and defensive qualities.
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