Switzerland

The merged entity will retain the CWP Renewables branding and is one of the largest portfolios of wind assets in Australia.

The fund has a target of €465m, while a vehicle open to a larger pool of investors is being prepared for launch next year.

Although the coronavirus slowed fundraising momentum, it didn’t prevent the firm from expanding its investor base, with roughly half of LPs committing to SEEF II being new to the firm.

The Swiss fund manager has already deployed roughly €93m through SEEF II, a fund that could be double the size of its predecessor should it reach its €400m hard-cap.

The project marks the beginning of the Swiss fund manager’s partnership with Perth-based Starling Energy, a manager of distributed energy assets.

After 10 years at the helm of the energy transition-focused firm he founded, Tobias Reichmuth will continue to provide strategic direction as chairman of the board.

Fontavis, which has raised three renewables funds – two of them alongside UBS Asset Management – will operate as an established brand within Swiss Life Asset Managers.

Like its predecessor, UBS-CEIS, the new fund is a joint initiative between UBS, Swiss asset manager Fontavis and insurer Swiss Mobiliar.

The strategy, which typically targets returns of 8-12%, will follow the Swiss firm’s 2016 vintage which raised €2.2bn.

The manager is following its $644m second equity fund with a third vehicle, said to be targeting about $1bn.