Fund manager M&G announced on Friday that its £136 bn With-Profits Fund is to allocate up to £5 bn into privately-owned enterprises working to create a more sustainable world.
To implement this new mandate, M&G has created a new global investment team called Catalyst, with presence in London, Singapore, New York and Mumbai. The 25-strong team has the flexibility to invest in private credit, real and financial assets and private equity.
Investments in the pipeline include development financing such as affordable housing, M&G said. In particular the Catalyst team – which sits within the same Private & Alternatives Asset team, alongside M&G Real Estate and M&G Real Estate Finance - will take new approaches to existing markets and assets, as well as investment into new markets, industries, technologies, sectors and geographies.
‘We will invest in opportunities that are adjacent to existing mandates but in a form or part of the market that does not fit in those mandates. This is a key design feature and one which will drive innovation and growth within M&G. Where experience exists, we will draw on that and work in partnership with other teams. This is the case for real estate as well as other asset classes,’ an M&G spokesperson told PropertyEU.
The new Catalyst team has invested in real estate in the past, examples include a differentiated single family residential platform in the US, an SME focused developer lending platform in the UK, senior debt against granular REO assets in Europe.
John Foley, Chief Executive of M&G said: ‘More and more customers are asking us to make a positive difference to the world through sustainable investment, while also seeking good financial returns to underpin their retirement. Many of the most attractive opportunities to do this are in private assets – new and existing companies and platforms which are not listed on an exchange. As a cornerstone investor in such enterprises, M&G can have a much greater influence in supporting their growth and on sustainability than we can in public markets.’
With over two decades of experience in private asset investment, M&G manages over £65.5 bn in private credit, private equity and real estate on behalf of Prudential policyholders and external clients.
