IST3 Global Infrastruktur, a fund for Swiss pension funds, has begun investing in infrastructure funds on the secondary market.
The not-for-profit IST Investment Foundation, which created the fund, has hired Stafford Capital Partners to help invest CHF120m (鈧�115m) in infrastructure 鈥榮econdaries鈥�.
A first deal has been completed in Europe, Ingo Marten, Stafford Capital managing partner, told IP Real Estate. IST3 would not comment.
A second deal 鈥� also in Europe 鈥� is likely to be completed in the coming months, Marten said, with Stafford Capital investing IST3鈥檚 capital between now and mid-2016.
At a time of , the firm will target core funds with 鈥渓ittle construction risk鈥�, Marten said.
Secondary transactions involving infrastructure fund units increased by 177% in 2014 over 2013, to $1.9bn (鈧�1.7bn), according to a 2014 Volume Report compiled by Setter Capital.
鈥淭here is a search for yield for investors and there are clear benefits from a secondaries strategy. There is limited blind-pool risk, alongside the ability to access concrete expertise in infrastructure,鈥� he added.
鈥淭here are several benefits attached to this, which is getting more and more known to investors.鈥�
Marten said the infrastructure secondaries market has evolved from a first phase when banks were the primary sellers.
鈥淭hat has moved on now and you can now see deal flow,鈥� he said. 鈥�Secondaries market investors are used to it and feel comfortable with it.鈥�
Stafford Capital recently completed investment of capital from its Infrastructure Secondaries Fund.
