MAPFRE and Abante join forces with Macquarie to launch a 200-million-euro infrastructure fund

MAPFRE and Abante, in the development of their strategic alliance, in association with the Australian financial services group Macquarie, have launched an infrastructure fund of at least 200 million euros. The insurer will contribute an initial capital of 50 million euros and will invite other institutional investors and private banking clients to participate in the fund under a co-investment model.

MAPFRE Infraestructuras FCR, as the vehicle has been called, will facilitate access to the main investment strategies in global infrastructures in an efficient and diversified manner, through Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). In total, Macquarie manages investments worth in excess of 126 billion euros worldwide and is the largest infrastructure manager globally.

Both MAPFRE and Abante will work together with MIRA in the selection of the most appropriate investments within the portfolio of strategies that the Australian manager currently has in place, which include renewable energy, transport, communications, public services and waste management. In addition, the two partners will be able to serve on the Macquarie funds oversight committees.

“MAPFRE Infraestructuras FCR offers a unique opportunity for the institutional investor, who will be able to access a very interesting asset class with predictable cash flow and which has a low correlation with other listed assets. And it will do so with the world’s leading player in a sector that requires high levels of specialization”, highlights Joaquín Casasús, CEO of Abante Asesores Gestión.

One year has passed since the creation of the strategic alliance between MAPFRE and Abante to create the most competitive platform for financial advice and product distribution in the Spanish financial market, including the joint development of alternative products with leading providers in various industries. This new fund serves as a perfect example of meeting this objective and offers investors a unique opportunity to access an asset type that allows them to diversify their portfolios in a low-rate environment.

Furthermore, this fund also complies with MAPFRE’s commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments. In this context, MIRA has developed an ESG methodology to mitigate the risks facing the companies in which they invest. “Certain structural changes anticipate a need for investment in infrastructure that is highly relevant and has global reach in the coming years. We want to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in this sector with one of the world leaders and to do so in a socially responsible fashion,” says José Luis Jiménez, MAPFRE’s Group Chief Investment Officer.

MAPFRE continues to make progress in diversifying its portfolio against other types of financial assets and gradually increasing its exposure to alternative investments, with the aim of safeguarding profitability in an environment of low interest rates. At the end of June, together with Abante and in alliance with Altamar, MAPFRE made its debut in the Private Equity segment with a fund of funds of up to 250 million euros.

MAPFRE is a global insurer with a worldwide presence. A benchmark company in the Spanish market, it is the largest Spanish insurer in the world, the third largest insurance group in Latin America and is ranked sixth among the largest European Non-Life insurers by premium volume. MAPFRE has more than 34,000 employees and in 2019, its revenue totaled almost 28.5 billion euros and net earnings were 609 million euros.

Abante is an independent financial company specializing in financial advice and asset management, aligned with the long-term interests of its clients. The Abante Asesores group (established in 2002) is currently made up of five companies: a securities agency, a financial advisory company (the first one registered in Spain), a management company for collective investment institutions, a pensions fund management company and an insurance intermediary.

In September 2019, Abante and MAPFRE signed a strategic alliance to create the most competitive independent platform for financial advice and product distribution in the Spanish market. The insurance group took a 10-percent stake in Abante via a capital increase and holds the possibility of acquiring a further 10 percent, up to a maximum of 20 percent, within three years.

Macquarie is a global financial services company of Australian origin that operates in 31 markets, and is the largest infrastructure manager in the world. Its infrastructure and real assets division – Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) – has 132 billion dollars of funds under management – as at the end of March 2020 – in assets that are essential to the sustainable development of economies and countries. Currently, its portfolio numbers more than 151 businesses, 500 real estate properties and some 4.8 million hectares of agricultural land.

MIRA is part of Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management arm of Macquarie Group. The group offers its clients a wide range of financial solutions: asset management, banking services, financial advice, wealth management, private equity, corporate advice and capital markets.