AGEST -
Australian Government Employees Superannuation Trust
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LazardWebsite: www.lazardnet.com
AGEST has employed Lazard to manage part of the infrastructure portfolio of the fund. AGEST is invested in the Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Fund.
The Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure portfolio seeks to achieve total returns (comprising income and capital appreciation and before the deduction of fees and taxes) that outperform inflation, as measured by the Australian Consumer Price Index, by 5% p.a. over rolling five-year periods. Lazard believes that infrastructure assets have a number of investment characteristics that make them attractive for investors. These include the long duration of the assets, low risk of capital loss and inflation-linked returns. However, while infrastructure can deliver these desirable investment characteristics, there is a considerable variability in the actual performance across the sector. It is Lazard's belief that investors seeking these characteristics need to narrow their focus to 'preferred' infrastructure companies, a sub-set of the wider infrastructure sector. The number of preferred infrastructure investments in the portfolio depends on Lazard's assessment of the relative value of the companies that form their preferred universe, taking into account portfolio construction guidelines. These guidelines are designed to ensure diversification among infrastructure sectors, countries and regions as well as to avoid concentrations in any one company. Lazard will substantially hedge the foreign currency exposures in the portfolio back to the Australian dollar.
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