Swiss collective investment foundation Helvetia Anlagestiftung is teaming up with Mercer Alternatives to launch a global evergreen infrastructure equity investment strategy for Swiss pension funds.
The Infrastructure Equity Global Evergreen strategy, which is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of the year will provide Swiss pension funds with access to a diverse range of global infrastructure investment opportunities across core, core-plus and value-add strategies, via primary and secondary funds, as well as co-investments.
Helvetia disclosed in a term sheet that the global evergreen infrastructure strategy will target sectors such as energy, utilities, communications, transport and social infrastructure, with an expected net annual return of 10–12% per year in dollar terms.
Dunja Schwander, managing director at Helvetia, said: “The launch is an important step in our efforts to provide even better support to Swiss pension funds to achieving their long-term investment goals.”
She added: ”By combining our long-standing expertise with a global investment manager, supported by the infrastructure team in Switzerland, we will offer investment opportunities with a robust risk-return profile in the core, core-plus, and value-added strategies which represent an addition to the portfolios of pension funds.”
Julia Schiffer, partner and head of infrastructure Europe at Mercer, said: ”Infrastructure investments are critical for driving economic growth and strengthening social resilience.
“We are committed to unlocking the potential of infrastructure investments and ensuring our clients can navigate the complexity of today’s market while capitalising on attractive growth opportunities.”
According to consultant Complemeta, alternative investments – which include infrastructure – accounted for over 10% of total assets under management of Swiss pension funds.
Within alternatives, Swiss pension funds are boosting their allocations to infrastructure that saw growth of +0.5 percentage points last year to 3.0% of total assets under management, Complementa said in a report.
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