Pension Fund Investment in Infrastructure Evolution, Problems and the Way Forward Raffaele Della Croce Financial Affairs Division Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs
Contents Global Interest in Infrastructure Trends Evolution of Investment in Infrastructure Problems Investing in Infrastructure The Way Forward Appendix 2
Global Interest in Infrastructure In the News April 2011 CalSTRS has contributed $40m to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts joint venture with El Paso, in oil and gas in the US April 2011 The $5.1bn San Diego City Employees Retirement System to roll out its new 3% allocation to infrastructure April 2011 Ontario Pension Board wins C$247m prison PPP a 30-year concession to build South West Detention Centre in Ontario Sources: Infrastructure Journal, Financial Times 3
Global Interest in Infrastructure In the News December 2010 - OTPP and Borealis are successful bidders for the High Speed 1 project in the UK December 2010 - the Alberta Investment Management Corp. bought a $ 850 million stake in a Chilean toll road, Autopista Central June 2010 - CalPERS has announced in June 2010 its intention to buy a $157 million stake or 12.7%, in Gatwick airport the UK s second largest airport Sources: Infrastructure Journal, Financial Times 4
Global Interest in Infrastructure Interest is growing rapidly driven by The financial crisis has aggravated the Infrastructure Gap further reducing the scope for public investment while at the same time affecting traditional sources of private capital Institutional Investors such as pension funds may play a more active role in bridging the infrastructure gap There is a near perfect match between pension fund seeking to invest pension capital in long term assets and the corresponding need for long term financing of infrastructure investment throughout the world 5
Global Interest in Infrastructure Increasing interest The increasing number of infrastructure experts and deal teams gives evidence to a changing investment attitude at pension funds. The financial crisis although had a negative impact on the infrastructure sector, could represent an opportunity for the asset class to mature Increased institutional interest in infrastructure over the last ten years has been based on favorable trends in the infrastructure market, the pension fund market, pension funds regulation 6
1. Trends: Infrastructure Market Over the last decades, in OECD countries, as the share of government investment in infrastructure has declined that of private sector has increased Government gross fixed capital formation 1980-2005 Source SNA 7
2. Trends : Pension Landscape Over the past two decades AUM in OECD countries have been growing. In 2009 Institutional Investors held over USD 65tr AUM with Pension Funds AUM at USD 17tr Assets held by Institutional Investors in the OECD area, 1995-2009 Source OECD 8
3. Trends : PF Regulation Changing Pension Fund Regulations Pension funds investment regulations at country level have been evolving over the years following different public policy decisions Regulation is one of the major driver of pension funds investment strategies 9
Evolution of Investment in Infrastructure Background Traditionally institutional investor exposure to infrastructure has been via listed companies (for example utilities), debt (i.e. bonds), or via real estate portfolios Dedicated infrastructure funds were first set up in the mid-1990s in Australia. In the 2000s, availability of cheap debt fueled the increase in fund-raising for infrastructure funds 10
Evolution of Investment in Infrastructure How much is invested in infrastructure? There is no clear data to gauge how much money is flowing in the sector So far institutional investment in infrastructure has been limited Institutional investor activity in infrastructure is at different stages in its evolution 11
Evolution of Investment in Infrastructure Appetite for Infrastructure Canadian and Australian pension funds are among the most active investors in infrastructure In Europe, despite the maturity of the infrastructure market, allocations to the asset are still limited US pension funds have been investing little in infrastructure in the past and are taking different approaches Recently, Korean public pension funds have been aggressively investing in infrastructure in foreign countries. 12
Evolution of Investment in Infrastructure Appetite for Infrastructure Institution Country Total Assets bn Infra Allocation (% of total assets) Current Target OMERS Canada CAD$ 44 15.7 22 OTPP Canada CAD$ 87.4 8 8 Australian Super Australia A$31.9 11.3 11.3 UniSuper Australia A$23 na 6.5 CALPERS United States US$ 183.9 1.5 3 Illinois State Board United States US$ 9 5.6 5 ABP Holland Eur 208 1 2 USS United Kingdom GBP 24 2.5 3 APT Denmark Eur 66 1.8 na Sources: Annual Accounts, Preqin, Investor information 13
Evolution of Investment in Infrastructure Factors Accounting for PF Investment Growth The availability of investment opportunities for private finance capital and therefore for pension funds The maturity and size of the pension fund market i.e. the institutional capital available for investment. Pension fund investment regulations Complexity of Infrastructure investment 14
Problems Investing in Infrastructure Main themes The Investment Opportunities The Investor Capability The Conditions for Investment Main Barriers Lack of political commitment over the long term Regulatory instability Fragmentation among different level of governments No clarity on investment opportunities Infrastructure investment opportunities are too risky Lack of expertise in the infrastructure sector Problem of scale of pension funds Regulatory Barriers Short Termism of investors Negative perception of the infrastructure value Lack of transparency in the Infrastructure sector Shortage of data on infrastructure projects Mis-alignment of interests 15
Way Forward Government support for long-term investments A stable and accessible programme of infrastructure projects and PPPs (i.e. National Infrastructure Plan, Regulation stability) Understanding the needs of institutional investors - Structure projects as attractive investment opportunities for pension funds Create the necessary preconditions for the development of institutional investors (public reserve funds/private managed pension systems) 16
Way Forward Reforming the Regulatory Framework Better Pension fund governance (i.e. trustee composition, education) Foster collaborative strategies and resource pooling (i.e. Club of Lt Investors, OMERS initiative) Adjust the prudential regulatory framework towards LT Investment (i.e. pension fund regulations/accounting) Reform the regulatory framework for LT (i.e. Basel III AIFM Directive etc..) 17
Way Forward Ensure the Conditions for Investment Enhance the investment environment (i.e. Independent Data Collection, common Performance measures etc.) Alignment of interests between pension funds and infrastructure industry (i.e. infrastructure association) Dialogue among parties (i.e. create a platform for dialogue) 18
Appendix Recent OECD work G20 Note on LT investment (Feb 2011) Role of Pension Funds in Financing Green Growth Pension Fund Investment in Infrastructure : a Survey Pension Fund Investment in Infrastructure: Policy Actions 19
Appendix Recent OECD work The Study : Pension Fund Investment in Infrastructure The study is based on more than 60 interviews with institutional investors active (or not) in the infrastructure sector in the U.S., Canada, Australia Europe and South Korea The objective was to identify the current barriers to infrastructure investment and examine a variety of options for removing some of these hurdles. 20
Appendix Recent OECD work Interviewees: Investors for more than $US4tr AUM, across regions Canada Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System - OMERS Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Ontario Teachers Pension Plan OP Trust Alberta Investment Management Corporation* Caisse de Depot de Quebec* Infrastructure Canada United States: California Public Employees Retirement System - CalPERS California State Teachers Retirement System - CalSTRS Los Angeles County Employees Retirement LACERA Illinois State Retirement System - SURS Teacher Retirement System of Texas Employees Retirement State of Texas New Jersey State Investment Council University of Texas Investment Management Company Columbia University Investment Management Company* TIAA-CREF Union Labor Life Insurance Company - ULLICO Vanguard Probitas Partners Morgan Stanley Private Equity Fund of funds Hewitt AssociatePension Consulting Alliance Cambridge Associates Townsendgroup Ennis & Knupp Europe PGGM APG ATP USS VARMA AP1* RPMI* Prudential (M&G) Aviva Investors Zurich Insurance Allianz LPFA Hewitt Tower Watson Macquarie European Investment Bank Marguerite Fund Fond de Reserve pour les Retraites Caisse de Depots Infrastructure Axa Private Equity Fondazione Cariplo F2i Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Prometeia REEF Barclays Private Equity Meridiam Deutsche Bank Campbell Lyutens Bfinance Australia AustralianSuper QIC IFM Infrastructure Australia CP2 Korea National Pension Service Teachers Pension funds Macquarie Korea 21
Appendix - Pension Landscape Although the aggregate PF is large, the size of domestic markets varies. Asset allocation also differs across countries Pension Assets as % of GDP in OECD countries, 2009 Asset Allocation of OECD Private Pension Plans 2009 Source OECD Source OECD 22