Challenging the benefits of infrastructure
Infrastructure has emerged as a new asset class that can offer many benefits from a portfolio construction perspective, according to Challenger.
Matt Gaden, head of institutional business at Challenger Financial Services Group, spoke on the topic last week in Sydney at the Innovative Investment Forum 2006.
Infrastructure at Challenger sits within their asset management business. According to Gaden, the unlisted Challenger Global Infrastructure fund has been designed to make it easier for investors to gain exposure to the infrastructure sector.
But Gaden said Challenger, as a company, also had a big alignment of interest in the infrastructure sector.
“Whatever we offer [to clients], we own some of it ourselves or we will own it on the balance sheet. We share in their upside or downsides. The pain or the pleasure is shared by Challenger,” Gaden said.
Because infrastructure is generally a yield-generating asset class, Gaden believes it can be used as part of the defence component within an investor’s portfolio.
“[Infrastructure products offer] yield, growth, long-term predictable cash flow and the ability to execute,” Gaden said.
Gaden indicated that for Challenger, investment in infrastructure is a long-term strategy.
“[Challenger has a] long term strategy of $4 billion annuity north of 10 years,” Gaden said.
Recommended for you
The regulator has convened multiple sitting panels of the FSCP regarding AFSL breach reports which have identified poor superannuation advice from financial advisers.
One licensee has lost 27 advisers in the past week, now sitting at zero, according to the latest Wealth Data figures.
AFCA remains firm on its stance that industry failures occurring in the financial advice sector are fundamentally an advice issue, rather than a product issue.
A Sydney financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing any financial services, with the regulator deriding his “lack of integrity, trustworthiness and professionalism”.
