A new global evergreen infrastructure equity investment strategy, launched by Helvetia Anlagestiftung and Mercer Alternatives, has secured an initial $120m in capital commitments from Swiss pension funds.
As previously reported, Swiss collective investment foundation Helvetia Anlagestiftung and Mercer Alternatives teamed up to launch the Infrastructure Equity Global Evergreen strategy tailored for Swiss pension funds in the fourth quarter of last year.
The strategy 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.
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, Helvetia Anlagestiftung, said the successful launch of the strategy is an important milestone in our efforts to offer Swiss pension funds tailor-made investment solutions.
She added: “Together with Mercer as an experienced partner, we are aiming to conduct investments with a robust risk-return profile to optimally support our clients’ long-term goals.”
Tobias Wolf, partner and head of investments at Mercer Switzerland, said the positive start to fundraising sets the stage for the rapid expansion of the investment portfolio.
“It makes us very confident about the further development of this asset class. This is further proof of the attractiveness of infrastructure as an asset class. The evergreen solution will allow future investors to invest in an existing portfolio,” Wolf added.
Infrastructure allocations among Swiss pension funds have increased in recent years, driven in part by the introduction of a 10% investment quota for the asset class.
According to consultancy Complementa, while most Swiss schemes maintain strategic allocations between 4% and 8%, some funds have now established targets of up to 10% of total assets.
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