NEST has joined an Australian delegation of six industry super funds, alongside IFM Investors and the Super Member Council, on a trip to France to source investment opportunities within European private markets to support the group’s target of deploying a projected A$660bn (€401.7bn) into the sector by the mid 2030s.
The delegation includes IFM Investors, AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Aware Super, CBUS, HESTA, Rest and the Super Members Council, together representing more than €750bn in workers’ retirement savings. UK workplace pension scheme NEST, a shareholder in IFM Investors, is also part of the delegation.
Over the next three days, the delegation will meet with senior French political leaders, public financial institutions, infrastructure leaders, private investors and the OECD to discuss opportunities for long-term capital investment in France.
With Australian super fund investment in the European Union and the UK projected to exceed A$660bn over the next decade, deeper relationships could enable funds to deploy more capital into European and the UK private markets, including, as a priority, high-quality infrastructure projects, said the delegation through IFM Investors.
“Australia, France and the UK are like-minded partners, with strong institutions and a long track record of collaboration in energy and infrastructure. In a period of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, deeper cooperation between like-minded countries has never been so important,” the delegation said.
Australian superannuation funds have already been investing for many years in French and UK infrastructure assets, which provide critical services. This includes investments through ERG, a European renewable energy operator and Atlas Arteria — a company that operates 2,424kms of French toll roads.
Pension funds also invest in euNetworks which supports the expansion of critical digital infrastructure across France and Europe, Oxford Properties M7 Real Estate platform and its €840m European industrial and logistics portfolio, as well as key projects in London including King’s Cross Estate and the Canada Water regeneration projects which are developing new housing, amenities and employment centres in historic areas of the city.
Following France, the delegation will also travel to the UK to discuss investment opportunities with the UK government.
