Being strict on the definition of infrastructure

Property & Infrastructure Securities

Winner

Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure Fund

Finalists

Folkestone Maxim A-REIT Securities Fund
CFS Global Listed Infrastructure Securities – Class A

Maple-Brown Abbott was particular about a strict definition of infrastructure and a stringent focus on capacity to flourish.

The fund’s head of global listed infrastructure, Andrew Maple-Brown, said one of the key factors determining the success of the investment strategy was the quality of its investment team.

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“There are a number of factors that determine the potential success of investment strategy but of greatest importance is the quality of the investment team,” he said. 

“I am extremely pleased and proud to have as my partners Lachlan Pike, Steven Kempler, and Justin Lannen, and believe that the strong alignment between us and our investors is also key.”

Maple-Brown believes that the fund’s smaller size relative to some of its peers has also resulted in long-term outperformance through stock selection. 

“We are committed to preserving this advantage by applying strict capacity limits to our strategy,” he said.

“Our team remains absolutely focused on our fundamental analysis of core infrastructure securities to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors.”

Folkestone managing director, Winston Sammut, said it was their targeted investment approach that led to the success of its fund.

“We say that our objective is to outperform the index by 1.5 per cent after fees over rolling three-year periods,” he said.

“We actually stated a target for a return as opposed to just saying ‘we want to outperform the index’ without any targets. And we’ve been able to do that, to achieve that – not only over the last three years but we in fact achieved it over the last 10 years.”

For the Colonial First State (CFS) infrastructure fund, it was all about remaining “true to label”. 

CFS head of sales, George Walker, said: “The CFSGAM fund has consistently delivered returns above the asset classes”.

“Hence, this fund has been successful because we have exceeded our clients’ expectations while remaining true to label, by investing in good quality companies at good prices through market cycles.”