AMP Capital said the funds – the Global Listed Infrastructure Fund and Global Real Estate Securities Fund – have been added to the platform following an “increasing” demand from global institutional clients for pooled fund exposure.
The asset manager will initially make the two funds available to investors in the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with plans to expand into other jurisdictions in Europe and Asia.
The platform has been launched with US$156m (£93.41m) in assets under management, which will be split equally between the two strategies. The funds will follow the same investment approach and strategy as AMP Capital’s existing listed infrastructure and real estate funds.
Anthony Fasso, AMP Capital’s chief executive and head of global clients said: “The establishment of a UCITS platform is a key step in our continued commitment to further develop AMP Capital’s offering in Europe given UCITS is the dominant investment structure in this region.”
AMP Capital’s UK institutional director Louisa Yeoman added: “The launch of the UCITS platform with an initial focus on these two asset classes reflects the increase in allocations to alternatives, particularly real assets, by global institutional investors.
“We are in advanced discussions with a number of institutional investors to support this launch and anticipate continued momentum as investors increasingly look for investments with the potential for capital growth and predictable, consistent, yields. We plan to add further strategies to our UCITS platform over time.”
As the name suggests, the AMP Capital Global Listed Infrastructure Fund and the AMP Capital Global Listed Real Estate Securities Fund both provide investors access to a global portfolio of securities deployed across regions and sectors.
The infrastructure fund with a three-year track record had US$897m (£537.13m) in funds under management as at 31 March. It focuses on energy infrastructure (including electricity transmission and distribution, and oil and gas transportation and storage), transportation infrastructure (including toll roads, airports and ports), communications infrastructure (satellites and mobile communications towers) and water infrastructure. The fund’s investment teams are located in London, Chicago and Sydney.
With a 12-year track record, the real estate fund provides access to a global portfolio of real estate investment trusts and listed property securities and is focused on Europe, the America and Asia Pacific. The fund had US$5.9bn (£3.53bn) in funds under management as of March-end with its investment teams located in London, Chicago, Hong Kong and Sydney.
The UCITS platform is an investment vehicle that enables fund managers to more easily distribute their products across Europe and Asia to offshore investors.
According to the European Fund and Asset Management Association, UCITS product structures represent 71% of the total European funds management industry.
