Paul Cuddy
Lazard Asset Management has announced the launch of its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Australia, providing investors and advisers access to an actively managed ETF portfolio of listed infrastructure companies.
The Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Active ETF (ticker: GIFL) is listed on Cboe Global Markets. GIFL is a unit class of the Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Fund which launched in 2005 and has A$2.0 billion of funds under management*. The actively managed ETF is made up of 25 to 50 companies from a select subset of the global infrastructure market that Lazard believes provide higher revenue predictability, profitability, and lower volatility.
“By investing in the equities of listed infrastructure operators, such as electricity networks, toll roads, and other essential assets and related services, investors can gain exposure to predictable long-term earnings streams,” said Warryn Robertson, Portfolio Manager/Analyst on Lazard’s Global Listed Infrastructure Team. “In our view, not all infrastructure is created equal. Our unique approach focusses on a “preferred” subset providing an asset class that can deliver clear benefits: diversification, lower volatility and inflation protection.”
“This is an award-winning investment capability that has long delivered outstanding risk adjusted returns for our clients across the globe,” said Paul Cuddy, Chief Executive Officer (APAC) at Lazard Asset Management. “We are pleased to now offer this Fund in an ETF structure, so Australian investors can enjoy the simplicity of investing through an exchange.”
The Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Active ETF (GIFL) has been successfully implemented by the same team that launched Lazard’s first global infrastructure fund almost two decades ago. As pioneers in global listed infrastructure investing, the team was one of the first to manage a dedicated global listed infrastructure fund anywhere in the world, and today is based in Sydney, New York, and London.