BNP Paribas Asset Management has launched the BNPP Environmental Infrastructure Income fund.

The fund will invest in environmental infrastructure covering power & digital infrastructure, water & waste management and transportation infrastructure and consists of a  portfolio of 70-90 holdings. It will be managed by the Co-Heads of the ‘Environmental Strategies Group’, Edward Lees and Ulrik Fugmann.

Main fund characteristics:

• Diversified & Defensive: Focus on defensive environmental infrastructure companies that benefit from rising demand for power and related grid infrastructure; significant growth in data centres and related infrastructure; companies driving upgrades in water and waste infrastructure as well as improving global transportation infrastructure
• Environmental Focus: Unique SFDR Article 9 listed infrastructure fund focused solely on critical listed infrastructure that is less sensitive to changes in economic activity and changes in business cycles avoiding more cyclical infrastructure related to fossil fuels and more discretionary social services and infrastructure
• Quantitative Portfolio Construction: Benefits from the team’s distinct quantitative capabilities and development in portfolio construction and factor alignment with specific optimisation on high dividend yield, high earnings visibility and low volatility
• Country & Sector Exposure: A global fund with a focus on Europe & US with companies typically sitting in Utilities and Industrials GICS sectors.

Ulrik Fugmann & Edward Lees, Co-Heads of the Environmental Strategies Group at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said, “Global environmental infrastructure unifies the world’s most pronounced megatrends of bolstering energy security, enabling exponential digital innovation, catering for changing demographics and population growth and not least, secure a positive environmental outcome. This secular growth is underpinned by the $69 trillion required to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure by 2035, underscoring the immense investment opportunities in this space by investing in the key beneficiaries. With governments like Germany and the US launching ambitious infrastructure funds and acts, such as the €500 billion infrastructure fund and the $2.3 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the stage is set for a new era of critical environmental infrastructure development. Investors can capitalize on this trend through listed infrastructure, which offers a compelling combination of defensive characteristics, attractive dividend yield, earnings visibility and stability, and access to the world’s leading infrastructure companies, all while navigating the complexities of aging infrastructure in need of upgrading and replacement.”

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