Infrastructure Debt 15 theme image11 Vantage Infrastructure

$2.5bn

Hot on Schroders’ heels comes Vantage Infrastructure, which has raised only $37 million less than its fellow London-based manager. Most of its capital has been raised through separately managed accounts as it makes its first appearance in our debt ranking.
Vantage is the former European arm of Hastings Fund Management. It has a diverse infrastructure equity and debt portfolio with more than £2.8 billion ($3.7 billion; €3.3 billion) invested in assets across Europe, North America and Australia.

As many firms are increasingly doing, Vantage puts environmental, social and governance considerations at the heart of its investing. It’s a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment and a GRESB Infrastructure member. It was awarded a GRESB five-star rating and a first-place ranking within its peer group in the 2019 GRESB Infrastructure Assessment.

As senior partner Valeria Rosati told Infrastructure Investor last year: “Vantage’s participation in PRI and GRESB surveys is not driven by a thirst for third-party accolades, but a desire to deliver best-in-class client outcomes in sustainability.”

12 La Banque Postale Asset Management

$1.9bn

La Banque Postale Asset Management did not make the ranking last year but has increased its capital raised by almost €1.5 billion to reach €1.9 billion. It is a significant leap for the Paris-based firm and brings it comfortably inside the Infrastructure Investor Debt 15.

The LBPAM European Responsible Infrastructure Debt Fund was launched last year and has so far raised €375 million of its €600 million target. The fund is investing in diversified sectors across Europe. The firm also runs the €453 million LBPAM European Infrastructure Debt Fund 2, which held a final close in 2017.

LBPAM European Responsible Infrastructure Debt Fund is the group’s third infrastructure fund. LBPAM applies its own ESG screening processes to investments through this vehicle, which can be made across the infrastructure spectrum.

René Kassis, head of private debt at LBPAM, told Infrastructure Investor last year that the fund would look beyond traditional renewables by investing in energy storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It would also pay close attention to heating assets in the Nordics.

13 UBS Asset Management

$1.8bn

UBS Asset Management made the list for the first Infrastructure Investor Debt 10 and is back again, having raised marginally more capital to bring its total over the trailing five-year period to $1.8 billion.

The Zurich-based firm has made a strong start to its involvement in infrastructure debt, having only closed its first €570 million fund in 2016.

Not all of the €1 billion raised for its second debt vehicle – Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform II – could be included in last year’s ranking due to the cut-off date, but it is included now. That fund had an initial target of €700 million and is investing in medium-sized debt opportunities across several sectors in Western Europe, primarily through direct lending on senior secured projects.

Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform II raised capital from 48 LPs, comprising a mix of pension funds and insurance companies from 10 countries across Europe and Asia, with a re-up rate of more than 70 percent. The second fund follows the €570 million UBS Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform, which was both launched and closed in 2016.

14 Allianz Global Investors

$1.4bn

Allianz Global Investors is a major player in infrastructure debt. The Infrastructure Investor Debt 15 ranking only takes account of third-party money and shows the firm’s total capital raised over the past six years or so to be $1.4 billion, which is a decrease on the total recorded at the same point last year.

In March 2019, the Frankfurt-headquartered manager launched Allianz Euro Core Infrastructure Debt Fund, a €600 million fund with a target size of €750 million, investing in energy, transport, renewables, utilities and telecoms across Europe.

The Euro Core fund represents a branching out for Allianz, which was already managing pooled sterling vehicles alongside large separately managed accounts.

Claus Fintzen, the firm’s chief investment officer, infrastructure debt, says: “This latest fund launch provides yet another access route to the unique cashflows available to investors through our market-leading infrastructure debt platform… Investor demand for this new fund underlines how investing in infrastructure debt has quickly become an integral part of institutional investor allocations.”

15 Brookfield Asset Management

$1.3bn

Rounding out the Debt 15 is Brookfield Asset Management. The Toronto-based firm has mainly made headlines for its much-publicised purchase of a 62 percent stake in Oaktree Capital Management for $4.7 billion. It has also been busily working towards its infrastructure debt goals, increasing its total capital raised from just under $1.2 billion in the last ranking to almost $1.3 billion. Every manager in the Infrastructure Investor Debt 15 has raised more than $1 billion.

The firm closed its debut infrastructure debt vehicle, Brookfield Infrastructure Debt Fund I, in December 2017. The fund is backed by a diverse group of institutions, including pensions, and won Infrastructure Investor’s 2018 award for debt fundraising of the year in the global category. The fund was launched in 2016 with a $700 million target and focuses on mezzanine credit investments in core infrastructure assets, primarily in North America but also in South America, Australia and Europe. By final close it had already made several investments in infrastructure debt –covering transport, renewables, power and energy – worth about $200 million.