Colonial First State grows global infrastructure after mandate wins

Increasing institutional demand for global listed infrastructure has led Colonial First State Global Asset Management to expand its team after securing $100 million in mandates.

After winning mandates from a financial services company and a corporate superannuation fund, CFSGAM has appointed Ofer Karliner as senior analyst focusing on toll roads and energy pipelines, based in Sydney.

He joins the team from CP2 where he was head of transport infrastructure. Before that, he worked as a senior equities analyst with Macquarie Securities.

Karliner’s appointment follows another recent addition to the team’s Hong Kong office, with senior analyst Jin Xu joining from Deutsche Bank.

Peter Meany, head of global infrastructure securities with CFSGAM, said the appointments coincided with increased demand for the asset class from the institutional side.

He said this demand stemmed largely from expectations that global listed infrastructure will deliver solid performances in 2011 despite an anticipated patchy recovery in global gross domestic product growth, with strong pricing power, sustainable growth and predicable cash flows expected to underpin performance.