NPRF commits €250m to new fund

The National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) has committed a quarter of a billion euro to a new infrastructure investment fund which will invest in state assets designated for disposal, and in new infrastructure products in Ireland.

Irish Life Investment Managers set up the fund and is seeking up to €1 billion from institutional investors. It has already received investment commitments of €50 million in addition to the €250 million commitment from the NPRF.

AMP Capital, will act as investment manager to the fund, with full responsibility for investment decisions.

Irish Life Investment Managers’ chief executive Gerry Keenan said the company expects considerable investment opportunities to emerge in the coming years as infrastructure assets, which have traditionally been closed off from outside investment, open up for private investment.

The National Pension Reserve Fund was set up in 2001 to manage Ireland’s public sector pensions. The commission which runs the fund has a commercial mandate.

It has reduced its exposure to equity investments in the last few years. The fund liquidated €10 billion of assets during the first half of 2011 to fund part of the State’s €17.5 billion contribution to the EU-IMF rescue deal.

It has also shareholdings in AIB and Bank of Ireland. At the end of June, the total size of the fund was €20.8 billion, down 8.3 per cent in the year to June.