Generali Global Infrastructure (GGI) has launched two funds in a bid to support the recovery of European economies through “sustainable and resilient investment in infrastructure”.
The funds each have a target size of between €400m and €700m and were launched in October with an initial investment from Generali Group of €290m, which was split evenly between the two.
The strategies are open to institutional investors outside the Generali Group.
The GGI investment team selects brown- and greenfield investments which it considers as having a “distinctive capacity to contribute to the recovery of the European economies, as well as to the UN sustainable development goals”.
Both funds are aligned with the Paris Agreement trajectory on climate.
What’s on offer?
One fund is focused on energy transition, environment and green mobility; and the other one on digital transition and social infrastructure.
A Generali spokesperson confirmed to Expert Investor that the company is not yet able to share details of the funds’ names and ISINs.
The targeted geographies and sectors offer a very large range of investment opportunities and this allows GGI to build diversified portfolios and to be highly selective, focusing on the generation of financial and extra-financial performances.
The infrastructure sector globally generated $657bn (€552bn) of investments in 2019 across debt and equity transactions, offering a large diversity of private investment opportunities across instruments, sectors and geographies.
Europe confirmed its leading position with above $220bn of projects in 2019.
Crisis presents an opportunity
Timothy Ryan, chief executive of Generali Asset Management, commented: “The European Green Deal implies a renovated effort to accelerate the environmental and social transition, generating long term positive impacts on the lives of citizens and businesses in Europe.
“Infrastructures contribution will be strategic in this development path, bringing strong social and economic benefits to society. The new GGI funds confirm the core attention of our group to sustainable investments, driving capital towards high-quality, positive-impact projects.”
Philippe Benaroya, chief executive of GGI, stated: “The current crisis represents an opportunity for governments to accelerate ambitious investments in the fields of energy and social transition, channeling capital to make our economies and societies more resilient and sustainable.
“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.
“This asset class is a major theme for investors looking for resilient investments, offering attractive returns in a low-rates environment.”
