Allianz Global Investors (AGI) has recruited an infrastructure debt team and will target insurers, pension funds and other investors that have long duration liabilities.
The team is led by Deborah Zurkow, who until recently was the CEO of Trifinium Advisors and head of public finance for Europe, Middle East and Africa for MBIA Inc, a financial guarantee insurance company. She becomes chief investment officer of infrastructure debt and is joined by four other executives from Trifinium.
AGI said the infrastructure debt is suitable for investors that need stable cash flows and risk-adjusted returns that are currently better than government bonds in order to manage their liabilities.
In OECD countries, annual investment requirements for infrastructure are projected to rise from $700 billion (€557 billion) to $1 trillion between now and 2030.
AGI will initially target Europe but expects to look beyond at a later date.
The asset manager says it is the largest to date to invest in expertise dedicated to infrastructure loans.
©2012 funds europe
