UBS Asset Management's (UBS-AM) Real Estate & Private Markets (REPM) business has announced the closing of APPIA II Global Infrastructure Portfolio (APPIA II), an infrastructure fund-of-funds for German and Austrian institutional investors, with €368m of commitments. The fund was launched by UBS-AM in 2016 alongside its Munich-based Joint-Venture partner, Solutio AG.
This is the second infrastructure fund-of-funds vehicle launched by UBS-AM and Solutio following the successful performance of its predecessor, APPIA I, which closed in 2014. "With the successful raising of the APPIA II program, we have proven that we have a convincing offering for institutional clients in Germany and Austria", comments Reiner Hubner, Head of Institutional Clients at UBS Asset Management (Deutschland) GmbH.
The APPIA II fund-of-funds provides a broadly diversified exposure to the infrastructure asset class, with a focus on brownfield infrastructure in OECD markets, mainly Europe and North America. The fund is investing in core/core+ as well as growth-focused strategies and is reviewing opportunities across all of the major sectors including energy and utilities, transport, communications, public-private partnerships and social infrastructure.
Roland Hantke, Head of Multi-Managers Infrastructure, UBS-AM REPM, commented: “Our longstanding expertise of the global infrastructure market enables us to identify attractive opportunities for our clients. Our focus is on infrastructure managers that can source assets through off-market transactions and actively manage the investments, as well as provide maintenance and growth CapEx to create long-term value. We are very pleased that through our strong pipeline we have already been able to commit over 70% of the fund at final closing.”
Robert Massing, Managing Director of Solutio AG, added: "The APPIA II portfolio has already come out of the J-Curve at a very early stage in the fund's investment period due to a successful mix of primary and secondary transactions. APPIA II has exposure to some 65 infrastructure assets to date, and seeks to invest into 15-20 primary and secondary funds.”
