Macquarie International Infrastructure Securities Fund Celebrates First Year

17 January 2007

The Macquarie Funds Management Group today said its Macquarie International Infrastructure Securities Fund had celebrated its first year of operation attracting more than $123 million in funds flow from retail investors and a further $100 million of institutional funds flow.

The fund, which was launched in late 2005, has seen increasing inflows as more retail investors are exposed to information about the role of infrastructure in investment portfolios.

The Portfolio Manager and Head of the Macquarie Funds Management International Infrastructure Securities Team, Jon Fitch, said that during the past decade there has been a significant increase in investors’ appetite for infrastructure investments.

Mr Fitch said infrastructure investment used to be seen as the domain of institutional investors, but is fast becoming a mainstream asset class.

He said the increasing interest in the Macquarie International Infrastructure Securities Fund centred mainly on the fact that it was a professionally managed fund that provided retail investors with diversification across a range of infrastructure sectors and countries.

“While more retail investors are becoming interested in investing in infrastructure, they also want to know that they are in a fund that provides them with a level of diversification that offsets some of the risk of investing in direct infrastructure,” Mr Fitch said. 

“The Macquarie International Infrastructure Securities Fund invests in listed and unlisted infrastructure securities issued by managers whose primary focus is the long-term management, ownership and operation of both infrastructure and utility companies."

“There are risks associated with any investment, but our objective is to deliver outcomes in line with our clients’ expectations. Our goal is to maximise risk-adjusted returns so our focus is on businesses operating under long-term contracts that provide defined income streams.”

Mr Fitch said that investors should consider an exposure to a managed infrastructure fund in line with their individual investment goals.

“We believe investors should consider exposure of up to 10 per cent as part of a balanced portfolio, depending on their investment profile and individual needs.  We recommend investors discuss the merits of including exposure to a managed infrastructure fund with a financial adviser."

“Infrastructure was considered an alternative investment for the past 10 years, but is now mainstream, more understood and more accessible for retail investors.”

Macquarie Funds Management Head of Distribution, Bruce Murphy, said that during the past few years infrastructure stocks had also been attracting strong attention from superannuation and pension funds who like the defensive nature of infrastructure assets.

“The Macquarie International Infrastructure Securities Fund was one of the first specialist funds to provide an open-ended managed fund that retail investors and their advisers can access 12 months of the year,” Mr Murphy said.

“It is still one of the few managed infrastructure funds that is available to advisers and investors on the major Australian platforms."

“Such ready access takes infrastructure from being an opportunistic investment to a mainstream asset class for both model portfolios and inclusion in client portfolios."

“We are seeing a number of advisers taking up this fund as they complete their annual reviews of client portfolios,” Mr Murphy said.

For more infromation, please contact:

Irene O'Brien
Head of PR & Communication
Macquarie Financial Services Group
Macquarie Funds Management Group
Tel: (612) 8232 3241
Mobile: (61) 417 260 309