California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) and UBS Global Asset Management have formed a strategic infrastructure partnership, Golden State Matterhorn, LLC to pursue infrastructure investment opportunities across core, OECD markets. CalPERS and UBS have made capital commitments of USD 485 million and USD 15 million, respectively, to the partnership.
UBS will be the managing member and it will utilize the services of Infrastructure Asset Management (“IAM”), an investment area within UBS Global Asset Management’s Infrastructure and Private Equity business unit. IAM originates and manages direct investments in infrastructure assets globally on behalf of institutional investors from around the world. The team includes senior executives who have been active in the infrastructure and related sectors since the early 1990s.
CalPERS’ Senior Portfolio Manager, Randall Mullan noted, “We are pleased to add UBS Global Asset Management to our roster of preferred partners as we expand our access to infrastructure assets across the globe.”
Global Head of UBS Global Asset Management’s Infrastructure and Private Equity business, Paul Moy, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with CalPERS, one of the world’s pre-eminent institutional investors, for this important mandate. We share a common view of good infrastructure investment and the value-add and risk management activities associated with these investments. We are now working together to put this view into practice.”
GSM LLC was established on June 30th, 2014 and is actively considering infrastructure investments opportunities with the goal of making two to four investments over the next few years.
UBS Global Asset Management (Americas) Inc. is a member of the UBS Global Asset Management division of UBS AG. The Infrastructure and Private Equity business area manages over USD 14 billion worldwide in commitments for investors. A dedicated team, Infrastructure Asset Management, manages direct infrastructure investments in OECD countries. Direct investments to date include ownership stakes in Spinning Spur II Wind Farm, Njord Gas Infrastructure (part owner of Gassled, the world’s largest offshore natural gas system), Collgar Wind Farm (a 206 megawatt wind farm in Australia), Northern Star Generation (a 1,402 megawatt portfolio of power stations in the United States), Saubermacher (a waste management business serving central and eastern Europe based in Austria) and Southern Water (a water and sewerage company serving southeast England).
CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the U.S., with more than $300 billion in assets. CalPERS administers health and retirement benefits on behalf of 3,064 public school, local agency, and state employers. There are more than 1.6 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and more than 1.3 million members in its health plans.