Rising investor appetite for digital infrastructure, energy and transportation assets boosted fundraising for Manulife Investment Management, which closed its largest-ever infrastructure fund with $5.5 billion.
The money-management division of Manulife Financial Corp. has a team that specializes in mid-market infrastructure assets primarily in the US, which can complement and diversify exposure for investors with capital in larger opportunities, according to Anne Valentine Andrews, global head of private markets for the unit.
“People are looking for these strategies alongside the kind of, big, global strategies,” Andrews said in an interview on Monday. “You want to have diversification in your portfolio. There are very different deals available at different levels of size just out there in the market.”
The third vintage of Manulife’s strategy exceeded its target and prior $4.65 billion fundraising. The fund’s portfolio managers are targeting $100 million to $500 million for each investment, Recep Kendircioglu, Manulife IM’s global head of infrastructure, said in the interview. The vehicle has already made 11 commitments, according to an emailed statement.
Manulife has invested in a fiber network company and a renewable energy and solar firm, and Kendircioglu said its vehicles typically invest in 15 to 20 assets.
Investing in relatively smaller assets allows for more opportunities to grow and potentially offer easier exit opportunities compared with some of the industry’s largest investments.
