Pictet Asset Management has launched a new specialist fund, Pictet-Global Real Assets Dividend, a strategy targeting physical assets for long-term capital growth and dividend income.
The fund consists of 40-to-60 listed global companies that own or operate real physical assets, each chosen using bottom-up stock selection. Sectors include utilities, energy infrastructure, transport infrastructure, real estate, materials and other asset-intensive businesses.
The management team includes three senior investment managers – James Wigley, Bruno Lippens and Josephine Moore – supported by investment manager Lucia Macaccaro. The team have managed a similar strategy for Japanese investors over the last 20 years, with $8.5bn under management.
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The fund is structured as a Luxembourg SICAV, and is registered for sale in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy (professional only), Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and UK.
Portfolio manager Wigley said: “Earnings and dividends from companies that own high-quality physical assets are often linked to and grow in-line with inflation. By focusing on companies responsible for irreplaceable real assets like hydro power generators, gas pipelines and toll roads, the Pictet-Global Real Assets Dividend fund will provide investors with defensive earnings and a diversified source of returns”.
