Global investment solutions provider Russell Investments on Thursday announced the launch of a Luxembourg-domiciled global unlisted infrastructure fund. The open-ended private markets fund aims to invest in opportunities that address the need for new infrastructure solutions to meet evolving social and economic demands.
The fund is classified as “light green” Article 8 under the EU sustainable finance rules, which is in line with Russell’s commitment to offering sustainable solutions to help achieve clients’ investment goals. It is currently only available for professional investors in the U.K. and Luxembourg.
The Russell Investments Global Unlisted Infrastructure Fund gives exposure to a global infrastructure portfolio diversified across sectors, geographies, revenue structures and transaction types with a target return of four percent above inflation, the firm said.
“We have seen strong demand for private markets solutions across the institutional and wealth management space, particularly for products that offer access to what has traditionally been a fairly limited marketplace,” said Joe Linhares (photo), head of EMEA at Russell Investments, a BlackRock veteran. “We are very excited to launch an open-ended unlisted infrastructure fund, providing access to top-tier managers with quarterly commitments and liquidity access in response to the evolving requirements of investors.”
Registered on 5 September
The fund was registered as a Reserved Alternative Investment Fund, or Raif, in Luxembourg on 5 September. Carne Global acts as the alternative investment fund manager. Raifs are not directly regulated but the fund manager is subject to supervision, in this case by Luxembourg’s CSSF.
The fund aims to provide investors with access to assets that possess a significantly strong competitive position and an ability to deliver long-term sustainable cashflows. The fund combines different risk profiles into a single portfolio, from the income-only Super-Core segment to the long-term growth-focused Value-Add segment.
Like many other Luxembourg Raifs, Russell’s new fund is positioned to take advantage of key trends in infrastructure, many of which, such as the development of new technologies and approaches to meet social and economic needs, were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Internet and transport
Russell said these trends include improvements in data technologies to meet a substantial increase in cellular traffic arising from greater mobile device adoption; increased internet and cloud computing usage; growing reliance on renewables to combat climate change; and enhancements to transportation infrastructure in response to population growth and urbanisation.
“Whilst having a positive benefit for society, exposure to new infrastructure projects offers investors access to sustainable sources of income to help them meet their long-term goals,” said Michael Steingold, portfolio manager private markets at Russell Investments. “We believe the Global Unlisted Infrastructure Fund provides a highly attractive solution, allowing investors to benefit from growing infrastructure while also offsetting the effect of rising inflation.”
Russell said it believes investment opportunities tied to these trends can offer exposure to stable sources of income, with a high level of inflation protection and a low correlation to other asset classes.
A longstanding alternatives specialist, Russell Investments has managed private markets portfolios for 40 years. It launched its first open-ended private real estate fund in 1984 and first private infrastructure fund in 2006. The firm manages and advises 114 billion dollars in alternative investments. It currently monitors more than 8,000 private markets products globally.