EMUN is expanding its range of investment funds with EMUN Global Private Infrastructure OPF (hereinafter GPI or the Fund) – the third in its series of funds focused on investment opportunities in private markets in cooperation with leading global asset managers. The Fund focuses primarily on areas of digital infrastructure such as the development and holding of data centers, as well as energy and transport infrastructure. In its initial period, the Fund raised more than half a billion CZK in initial capital from the EMUN group and EMUN Family Office clients. It built a fully invested portfolio composed of institutional funds of leading global infrastructure managers. After a successful start, the Fund is now being opened to external investors and will be available in quarterly subscription windows through selected private banks and distributors. In the upcoming periods, the Fund will aim to reach assets under management of over one billion CZK. Investments in infrastructure have historically offered an attractive combination of stable returns resistant to economic cycles, low correlation with publicly traded assets, and a good level of inflation protection.
The Fund will invest across three key segments. The largest part of the portfolio will target investments in digital infrastructure, especially the construction and long-term ownership of data centers, telecommunications towers, and fiber-optic networks necessary for modern digital communication. The energy segment will form the second largest part of the Fund’s portfolio and will offer investments in the production, transmission, and storage of energy, such as gas pipelines or transmission systems. The portfolio will be complemented by investments in the transport infrastructure segment, such as highways or airports. From a risk profile perspective, the fund will primarily target stabilized projects with inflation-linked contracts and a smaller representation of value-added projects such as greenfield development.
“Private infrastructure is currently one of the fastest-growing asset classes in private markets. In the last five years, assets under management have globally grown around 15% annually and have even outpaced larger classes such as private equity or venture capital. Key investors have historically been mainly sovereign wealth funds. At this moment, however, we are observing a democratization of this class, with other types of investors beginning to perceive its attractiveness. It is particularly interesting due to long-term contracts, inflation indexing, or the benefits of real assets, which can provide protection against shocks in the financial markets. We believe that in the future, infrastructure will, thanks to these qualities, replace a large part of investors’ real estate exposure,” says Filip Savi, partner and portfolio manager at EMUN.
By establishing the GPI fund, EMUN investiční společnost builds on more than 10 years of investment management in private markets, in which it currently manages over 6 billion CZK of invested and committed capital. Similar to previous funds in the “global private” series, GPI will offer exposure to developed Western markets in cooperation with leading global asset managers. The Fund will be available in an evergreen semi-liquid form with a CZK-hedged class, thus providing efficient access to foreign markets for local qualified investors. Investors in the Fund will thus have the opportunity to participate in some of the largest global infrastructure projects and profit from societal megatrends such as the adoption of AI, electrification of mobility, or deglobalization of supply chains.
“EMUN Global Private Infrastructure is another key piece in the broader mosaic of investment opportunities that we have made available to our investors in recent years. Unlike investments in private equity or private credit, it offers a different risk and return profile. Infrastructure investing should primarily be viewed as a long-term hedge against inflation, financial market volatility, or geopolitical risk. For the stable, multigenerational portfolios we manage at EMUN, these advantages are ideal. We believe that opportunities in global infrastructure will be especially attractive for investors who feel at risk due to their excessive exposure to local real assets such as commercial and residential real estate. We are probably the first investment company in the Czech Republic to decide to establish such an ambitious fund, and in the current environment, we see it as a necessary part of a well-diversified portfolio,” says Leoš Jirman, partner and CIO of EMUN, who has more than thirty years of experience in capital markets.