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Big jump in IFM Investors funds under management

Infrastructure is paying off for IFM

Infrastructure is paying off for IFM Photo: AAP

IFM Investors’ funds under management jumped 22 per cent in the 12 months to June 30, 2016 and its investment pool now stands at $70 billion. 

The result comes despite a year of flat share market returns and record low international interest rates and bond yields.

The strong performance is in part a result of good returns in IFM’s stable of alternative investments in areas like private equity, direct lending and infrastructure.

It also includes inflows of $7 billion in new investment funds, about 50 per cent of which came from foreign investors.

IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury said that the results illustrated the evolution of the Australian funds management sector as a new national export industry.

“Our 197 clients now span 13 countries and represent some of the largest, most respected institutional investors across global sovereign funds, public pension funds, endowments, global insurers and of course some of the most significant corporate, industry and government funds in Australia,” Mr Himbury said.  

“In many instances these global clients have made their first commitment to infrastructure equity, infrastructure debt and indeed discrete allocations to Australian listed equities via IFM.”

“These investments have been made through funds, mandates and investment partnerships reflecting IFM’s desire and capacity to balance our investment expertise with the diverse yet complementary structures to better support the unique needs of sophisticated investors globally,” he said.

“IFM is showing that it is possible to go into overseas markets and provide great products which can compete internationally.”

In an interview with The New Daily earlier this year, Mr Himbury urged the federal government to get more creative in encouraging investments into major projects like roads, airports, hospitals and other large-scale assets.

At the time, he pointed to an opportunity to invest in greenfield infrastructure projects under a model in which investors would share both the rewards and risks under agreed return assumptions.

Of IFM’s 197 investors, 130 are foreign based. These include six of the top 10 public pension funds in the US.

IFM invests on behalf of 19 million pension fund members globally.

Infrastructure equity now makes up $30 billion of IFM’s overall investments, with $10 billion invested locally and $20 billion offshore.

The group has also $20 billion in infrastructure debt, often made to greenfields infrastructure facilities such as hospitals. Of this, $15 billion is local debt, while $5 billion is lent offshore.

IFM Investors achieved record investment returns, with 81 per cent of all products and mandates outperforming client objectives after fees and taxes on a rolling five-year basis.

The New Daily is owned by a group of industry super funds.

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