Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure: A v. C?

LHW99

I have been looking at this fund, to compare it with others in the sector and to see what it holds.

It has a range of sub-funds denominated in different currencies, some hedged some not.

I notice that it has two GBP distribution unit classes denoted A dist and C dist, which to all intents and purposes appear the same according to Morningstar, in that the OCF's and top holdings are the same. The C class appears to be a newer sub-fund (2020 v 2016) and of a smaller size (12m versus 533 m).

Lazard only provides a factsheet for the A dist class

So my questions are:

Is there actually any difference between the classes that would give a reason to choose to invest in one rather than the other?

The fund has an IE ISIN, so is listed as an "Offshore fund" for UK investors. Would either of these classes be hedged? (I cannot find any details that suggest they are, but could easily have missed that).

I also see that the factsheet supplied for the A dist class by Lazard shows a chart for "£100 invested over 5 years" which states the source as Morningstar - but surely Morningstar compiles their sheets from data provided by Lazard? (It seems a bit circular to me).

I am considering whether infrastructure should have a place in my growth "bucket", but want to understand the different funds available a bit better before making a decision, so any comments on the fund would be of interest.

underground99

You are right, C is newer and has a slightly smaller minimum holding (£500 and £10 for any incremental subscriptions or redemptions), though that might not be an issue if you are holding them through a platform who will have enough between its customers to meet the £10,000 / £1000 minimum on class A. But they both have same management fee levels and invest in the same portfolio, so you don't need to worry too much, and can buy whichever your platform offers

The fact that it is domiciled in Ireland does not make a difference to whether they choose to offer hedged classes. Based on the prospectus they don't have a GBP hedged class and only offer hedged classes for EUR, USD or CHF.

I am considering whether infrastructure should have a place in my growth "bucket", but want to understand the different funds available a bit better before making a decision, so any comments on the fund would be of interest.

Some years there is good share price growth available from a portfolio of such equities as sentiment in the market turns but generally you don't expect it to deliver big barnstorming returns like tech or biotech companies etc.

Infrastructure equities are not generally going to produce a lot of 'growth'. Of course like all types of equities they can produce growth; but many investors would buy that type of company for the somewhat reliable income generated by utilities businesses such as the likes of National Grid or Severn Trent or United Utilities, or other bits of national infrastructure like toll roads or logistics or telecoms etc. These types of companies won't double in value overnight as their revenues are often set by regulation etc (which might give them a natural inflation hedge) though their values might fluctuate with the cost of debt etc and you can still get volatility as you are basically buying an equities fund of companies listed on the stock exchange that operates in a single sector (albeit some sub-sectors are more cyclical than others).

I have some infrastructure holdings within my portfolio but would generally prefer an investment company or fund that holds a mix of infrastructure projects or businesses on a private equity basis (e.g. HICL or INPP) where they can get a mixture of debt-like and equity-like returns from their portfolio without all of their holdings changing price every day on the whim of the public markets. By contrast, the larger holdings in this sort of fund from Lazard or First Sentient are simply shares in large public listed companies that operate in the infrastructure sector. Your general UK or global funds are likely to hold things like National Grid or Severn Trent or Ferrovial anyway, if they are attractive businesses for the fund's income or growth objective - so all you are doing with this one is picking an internationally invested fund that restricts the choice of what public listed companies it allows itself to buy, and only goes for infrastructure ones.

LHW99

Thanks for those comments underground99, that helps me get my head around things a lot better.

I have had a look at HICL (but not INPP yet), but as I also came across the Lazard one in my reading thought it was worth a look.

I don't plan to jump in, as there are at least a couple of other funds I want to research and compare before coming to a decision.