AMP diversified funds to feed new climate strategy with $500m target Investment News | Investment News NZ

AMP KiwiSaver and retail fund investors will underpin a new wholesale climate-focused private assets strategy launched by the manager this month.

The Global Climate Fund will form part of the group’s diversified product suite with allocations yet to be specified, however, Aaron Klee, AMP NZ head, said in a release the strategy could reach “half a billion dollars”.

An AMP spokesperson said while the new fund has “no hard limits” on asset class exposures, it would initially target private equity opportunities in the “climate infrastructure space”.

“The purpose of this fund is to provide impact capital to help accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy and help achieve net zero targets – that could be through private equity, direct equity, or finance arrangements that strike the right balance between impact and good returns for customers,” the spokesperson said.

AMP switched to a mostly passive investment approach in 2021 via mandates with global mega-manager, BlackRock, which will likely pick up some duties for the more actively managed climate fund.

“… we are considering investments in this area that are managed by an external manager, including BlackRock, but we also anticipate investing directly into opportunities aligned with the purpose of the fund,” the spokesperson said.

In August this year, the-then Labour government announced a partnership with BlackRock to establish a $2 billion climate infrastructure fund, although it is unclear where this initiative stands under the new National-led administration.

will build as investment opportunities are approved and through allocations from our diversified funds, in accordance with our strategic asset allocation model.

Set to begin investing in the first quarter of next year, the AMP climate fund “will build as investment opportunities are approved and through allocations from our diversified funds, in accordance with our strategic asset allocation model”, the AMP spokesperson said.

The new climate product will not be available as a stand-alone fund with costs covered by the headline AMP fund fees, which typically sit around 0.8 per cent.

AMP has about $10.5 billion under management including $5.6 billion in its KiwiSaver fund and $3.2 billion plus in the flagship employer super scheme, NZ Retirement Trust.