• Rise in ESG and sustainable investing is key driver for success
• Appetite for predictable returns from infrastructure grows
• FP Foresight UK Infrastructure Income Fund attracts £440m in two years
• FP Foresight Global Real Infrastructure Fund raising £15 million a month

London: Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”), a leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager, is pleased to announce that its award-winning Foresight Capital Management Team (“FCM”) has raised £500 million in less than two years since the launch of its first open-ended investment company (“OEIC”). The team cites the growing demand for ESG and sustainable investing, predictable cash yields, and lower market volatility, as key drivers for its success.

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Established in 2017, the team manages two OEICs, FP Foresight UK Infrastructure Income Fund (“FIIF”) and FP Foresight Global Real Infrastructure Fund (“GRIF”). FIIF focuses on renewable energy and infrastructure investment companies in the UK. GRIF invests into the publicly traded shares of companies that own or operate real infrastructure and renewable energy assets globally.

Foresight’s first OEIC, FIIF, was launched under the direction of Mark Brennan, Senior Investment Manager, achieving total returns of 11.65% in its first twelve months and exceeding its target full year yield of 5%, with a total return since inception currently above 27%. The Fund has received accolades including being selected for Fidelity’s ‘Select 50’ and ranking number one across total return, maximum drawdown and standard deviation on a one-year basis by Citywire Selector for a number of consecutive months.

Following on from the success of FIIF, GRIF was launched earlier in 2019 to attract investors seeking stable and predictable returns alongside true diversification and attractive risk-adjusted returns from a global portfolio. The Fund has raised £72 million since launch in June, gaining traction ahead of initial expectations.

As a result of turbulence in the equity markets over the past 18 months, there has been a marked increase in advisers adopting defensive positioning for clients’ portfolios, which has contributed to the success of both Funds. The team also cites the increased popularity of ESG and sustainable investing, along with investors seeking alternatives to fixed income as key reasons for the Funds’ popularity.

Nick Scullion, Head of Foresight Capital Management, commented: “We are delighted to reach such a significant milestone within two years of the launch of our first OEIC. We have grown funds under management and built a strong and diverse investor base which has meant we are on track to raise a record amount in 2019.

Both Funds are well placed to cater to the strong appetite for infrastructure as an asset class in the UK and globally, which shows no signs of slowing down. There is an exciting future for GRIF, which has the potential to be a multibillion-pound fund due to its unique access point into global infrastructure assets.”

David Hughes, Chief Investment Officer at Foresight, added: “The impressive performance of these first two specialist infrastructure funds from the Foresight Capital Management Team gives us confidence that the OEIC arm of our business will develop into a core component of the Group’s future growth.”