IFM Investors Sees Huge Opportunity in U.S. Infrastructure Plan
IFM Investors Sees Huge Opportunity in U.S. Infrastructure Plan
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion public-works plan is an enormous opportunity for pension investors in infrastructure, albeit a long-term one, according to a major player in Australia’s $2 trillion pension pool.
The U.S. public is cautious about private-sector investment in infrastructure, with good reason in many cases “because a lot of private-sector owners have, frankly, let the community down,” IFM Investors Pty Chief Executive Officer Brett Himbury said at the Bloomberg Invest event in Sydney Wednesday.
Himbury has visited the U.S. three times this year and seven last year in a bid to persuade the public that IFM is different because it’s a pension fund and has “20 years of case studies for investments that have created jobs” and been beneficial for communities as well as IFM.
IFM Investors is among international investors and asset managers hoping to participate in Trump’s proposed infrastructure plan, which has hit potholes amid a lack of bipartisan support in Congress and questions over who would pay for it. Himbury was part of a delegation led by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in February that proposed using Australia’s $2 trillion pension pool, the world’s fourth-largest pot of retirement savings, to help fix America’s ailing roads, bridges and airports.
- IFM has A$105 billion ($78 billion) of assets under management, invests money on behalf of entities from 18 countries, according to its website
- IFM teamed with AustralianSuper to buy power network Ausgrid in 2016 for A$6 billion
- NOTE: Trump Public-Works Plan Gets Nudge From $2 Trillion Pension Pool
To contact the reporter on this story: Brett Foley in Melbourne at bfoley8@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Phoebe Sedgman at psedgman2@bloomberg.net, Andrew Hobbs, Keith Gosman
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