Infrastructure debt

In today’s edition, Santander grows its infrastructure debt operation to help manage two new funds. Plus: smaller managers are finding fundraising a struggle; and we invite our readers to participate in our emerging manager survey. Here’s today’s brief for our valued subscribers only.

The investor is also moving into other new areas of illiquid credit, including infrastructure and real estate financing, says founder and CEO Antoine Prudent.

Despite record-breaking H1 fundraising activity, infrastructure and real estate credit funds are largely absent from the total.

The partnership – also comprising CVC, Goldman Sachs, Prudential Financial and MS&AD – will initially originate up to £2bn of assets over five years. It means Standard Life could acquire defined benefit schemes as large as £25bn, says interim CIO Nuwan Goonetilleke.

But growth in insurance inflows helped boost total credit inflows to $33bn, nearly 50% of the firm’s total.

The funds will be used for sustainable opportunities across Nuveen’s energy platform, including its Energy & Power Infrastructure Credit Fund II.

Even as the $40bn system deals with short-term underperformance, its pacing into the asset class is expected to increase in the coming years.

Infra debt’s stable cashflows and strong track record are prompting more LPs to engage with the asset class.

Credit fundraising for the top firms eases past $186bn as sticky interest rates and monopolistic cashflows tempt investors.

Lenders are ramping up their energy transition efforts against a backdrop of escalating power demand and renewed emphasis on energy security.