One infrastructure fund prevails over COVID-19
The only infrastructure fund to have made a return so far this year was Mercer Global Unlisted Infrastructure fund at 7.36% and it was also the only unlisted fund, according to data.
According to FE Analytics, the fund was followed by RARE Infrastructure Income A at a loss of 1.96%, Infrastructure Partners Investment Core A (-6.96%), BlackRock Global Listed Infrastructure (-8.18%), and AMP Capital Core Infrastructure (-8.25%). These were compared to the infrastructure equity sector average of a loss of 13.38%.
The Mercer fund was a multi-manager fund that invested in both direct equity and debt infrastructure investments.
Before the global sell-off in March, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mercer fund had returned 4.06% since the start of the year but dropped to a loss of 8.2% during the sell-off. The fund has now managed to fully recover those losses.
Top-performing infrastructure funds v sector since start of 2020 to 30 September 2020
Source: FE Analytics
While the top-performing fund was specifically unlisted, RARE infrastructure’s senior portfolio manager, Shane Hurst, said he believed that listed infrastructure continued to provide attractive valuations when compared to unlisted with the added liquidity and greater opportunity.
The RARE Infrastructure Income A latest factsheet said: “General equities performed strongly during the quarter, supported by ongoing policy stimulus and an improved economic outlook. Our global listed infrastructure funds underperformed general equities during this period but outperformed most key benchmarks.
“Economic data continued to show signs of a strong rebound from the COVID-19-induced lows of the second quarter, albeit the rebound moderated. COVID-19 infections continued to spread in many regions, resulting in targeted changes to mobility restrictions, particularly in the US and emerging markets and more recently Europe.”
Over the longer term, Mercer Global Unlisted Infrastructure fund was again the top performer at 74.96% over the five years to 30 September, 2020.
This was again followed by RARE Infrastructure Income A, at 64.5%, Blackrock Global Listed Infrastructure at 50.45%, and Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure at 47.5%, and Vanguard Global Infrastructure Index at 44.57%. The infrastructure equity sector average was 34.25%.
Top-performing infrastructure funds v sector over five years to 30 September 2020
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