Italian insurer Generali has launched two European infrastructure funds in anticipation of greater public and private investment in the asset class as a way to mitigate the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two funds are managed by Generali Global Infrastructure (GGI), part of the group’s multi-asset boutique asset management platform, and have respective target sizes of €400 million and €700 million.
Each fund has been given an initial €145 million by the Generali Group but will be looking to external institutional investors for any further capital.
According to GGI’s investment team, the funds will offer a flexible allocation between a debt investment strategy and an equity strategy. One of the funds will focus on the environment, green mobility and energy transition while the other will prioritise digital transition and social infrastructure.
Debt and equity transaction in the global infrastructure sector generated $657 billion in 2019 with Europe accounting for more than a third ($220 billion) of investments.
The investment team at GGI expects this figure to increase as a result of both Covid-related economic recovery plans and various sustainability initiatives including the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainability Goals.
Philippe Benaroya, GGI chief executive, stated: “The current crisis represents an opportunity for governments to accelerate ambitious investments in the fields of energy and social transition.
“Infrastructure is an established counter-cyclical asset class, and one of the few capable of federating public and private capital towards the achievements of long term positive financial and extra-financial impacts,” he added.
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