Markets are likely to stay volatile and having a more defensive portfolio with infrastructure stocks that are naturally growing, means a defensive growth proposition that adds a different dimension to their diversified portfolio.
Introducing the FTF ClearBridge Global Infrastructure Income Fund
An income-orientated, global infrastructure fund, targeting a high level of income with a secondary objective of long-term capital growth.
This is a marketing communication. For the purposes of the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements, a sustainable investment label helps investors find funds that have a specific sustainability objective. This Fund does not have a UK sustainable investment label because it does not have a specific sustainability objective.
Video
Infrastructure: the unsung hero of volatile markets
Shane Hurst, managing director at ClearBridge Investments, discussed the sector's resilience, AI's impact, and the booming capex super cycle with Asset TV.
Invest in infrastructure: why now?
Income needs are as critical as ever, but uncertainty about inflation and yields has created challenges for investors. Alternative income generating solutions such as infrastructure can prove to be a true differentiator from traditional income solutions.
Defensive
Inflation protection
The regulatory and contractual frameworks of infrastructure industries help lead to inflation-linked revenue streams, giving the portfolio the potential to provide investors with a hedge against inflation.
Lower volatility
Due to the essential nature of infrastructure assets, demand is relatively stable, providing lower volatility than traditional equities and resiliency of infrastructure revenue during various business cycles. Even at times of economic weakness, consumers continue to use infrastructure services.
- Utilities
- Toll roads
- Decarbonization
- Transportation
Utilities
Utilities
Utilities are the essential services that underpin our lives. The supply of water, energy, and waste facilities that we generally never think twice about provide extraordinary investment opportunities. Precisely because they are so intrinsic to the way we live with prices controlled by an independent regulator, utilities assets may stabilize a portfolio in times of inflation and benefit from a relatively low exposure to the economic cycle, providing higher income potential.
Toll roads
Toll roads
With the global urban population set to grow by 2.5 billion by 2050, and the proportion of the world’s population living in urban areas projected to reach 68%, the need for investment in transport infrastructure has never been greater.1 Toll roads in particular have been shown to play a key role in reducing traffic congestion in densely populated areas, enabling people to get where they want to go as quickly and safely as possible. Investment in publicly traded toll-road operators can provide a significant opportunity for growth, and as toll roads generally enjoy long-term contracts, leveraged to economic growth, they also may stabilize a portfolio in times of inflation.
Decarbonization
Decarbonization
The impact of climate change and the need for a more sustainable way of living have the attention of governments around the world. The resulting transition to renewable energy, and the requirement for updated infrastructure and resilient grid construction, will accelerate growth for those utility companies positioned to benefit from the inexorable shift. With total annual investments in clean energy forecast to grow from 2.5% of global GDP to about 4.5% by 20302, companies on the receiving end of this increased investment will see accelerated asset growth, subsequently filtering into earnings, cash flows and dividend growth in the medium and long term.
Transportation
Transportation
All forms of travel have experienced significant growth over recent decades, with global air passengers alone numbering around 4.5 billion in 2019.3 The effect of the COVID pandemic notwithstanding, the long-term growth trend remains intact with a 3.7% average annual growth through to 2039 predicted by The International Air Transport Association.4 And it’s not only air travel set to benefit as businesses and individuals also rely on roads, railways, and ports. This increasing demand for travel globally will increase the need for modern infrastructure, providing physical assets that move people, goods, and services, with growing demand as the population expands, increasing the scope for robust capital gains. Opportunities are particularly strong during economic growth cycles.
WHY INFRASTRUCTURE
The benefits of infrastructure investment
Our global listed infrastructure strategies aim to provide investors with more reliable income and may stabilize your portfolio in times of inflation, while also benefiting from the world’s move towards decarbonization.
Ratings
Resources
Fund information
Fund Factsheet
Fund Commentary
Meet the Team
The Fund is managed by an experienced investment committee comprising of the following members:
Nicholas Langley
Managing Director, Portfolio Manager
Shane Hurst
Managing Director, Portfolio Manager
Charles Hamieh
Managing Director, Portfolio Manager
Daniel Chu, CFA
Director, Portfolio Manager
INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS
Explore the latest thinking from our infrastructure experts
Why Us
ClearBridge and Franklin Templeton
Managed by infrastructure specialists
Infrastructure provides extraordinary investment opportunities, which only true knowledge and expertise can help you make the most of. Our specialist infrastructure team from ClearBridge Investments is one of the largest in the world. The breadth and depth of our extensive specialist experience, combined with a proprietary research, provides unique opportunities through high conviction funds, designed to deliver sustainable and attractive income. ClearBridge Investments is part of the Franklin Templeton group.
Footnotes
- "The demand and opportunities in listed infrastructure." Real Assets Adviser, May 2021.
- International Energy Agency (2021), Net Zero by 2050, IEA, Paris, https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050.
- https://www2023.icao.int/annual-report-2019/Pages/the-world-of-air-transport-in-2019.aspx.
- "The demand and opportunities in listed infrastructure." Real Assets Adviser, May 2021.
Important legal information
Investments entail risks, the value of investments can go down as well as up and investors should be aware they might not get back the full value invested.
FTF Clearbridge Global Infrastructure Income is `Rated' by Rayner Spencer Mills Research Limited and by Square Mile.
FTF Clearbridge Global Infrastructure Income has a 'Recommended' rating from The Adviser Centre.
The Elite Rating system is propriety to FundCalibre Ltd but should not be taken as a recommendation.