New research among financial advisers and wealth managers commissioned by TIME Investments, which specialises in infrastructure, long income property and other asset-backed investments, shows that renewable energy is the number one real asset investment. Over one-third (36 per cent) of advisers said that renewables are the most popular, followed by real estate (34 per cent), social infrastructure (14 per cent), utilities (10 per cent) and transport and logistics (6 per cent).
Advisers indicated that 42 per cent of their clients are now investing in infrastructure and this is being driven by investor concerns over ongoing economic uncertainty (22 per cent), the Brexit deal (14 per cent), on-going stockmarket volatility (10 per cent), poor returns from bonds (10 per cent) and a desire for predictable income (10 per cent).
When asked how much exposure clients should have to infrastructure investment in the current economic environment, the average recommended portfolio allocation was 36 per cent.
The research findings also showed that half of advisers believe that investors are more likely to invest in UK infrastructure, compared to 28 per cent in global infrastructure.
Stephen Daniels, fund manager of TIME:UK Infrastructure Income, says:
“Infrastructure investments offer a number of key benefits for investors such as attractive risk-adjusted returns, the potential for capital growth, predictable income generation and some inflation protection. Last week’s Budget commitment to billions of pounds in UK infrastructure will increase the popularity and of the sector even further.”
The open-ended Fund, TIME:UK Infrastructure Income, previously known as TIME:Defensive Income Securities, was launched two years ago to provide investors with an opportunity to access the growing UK listed infrastructure sector. This sector benefits from a consistent income return and capital growth prospects, while diversifying away from traditional assets. It is actively managed and invests in a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality asset-backed infrastructure, renewable energy and real estate securities.
The change of name has been made to better describe that the fund invests primarily in asset-backed securities exposed to the UK infrastructure, renewable energy and real estate sectors.
The unique and proven investment process utilises a combination of active and factor-based investment strategies to identify assets which offer attractive dividends, lower correlation, better liquidity, capital growth potential and lower volatility.
Matt Ryder of MBR Wealth says: “With the current volatility in the global markets, my clients are looking to ensure that the volatility and risk within their portfolios is well diversified. Many are looking at other asset classes, outside of equities, bonds and property. Infrastructure is now an integral part of all our portfolios.”
