Infrastructure behemoth IFM Investors will be ramping up its overseas investments under new chairwoman Cath Bowtell, who plans to take it from “an Australian company that has a global presence to being a really truly global company” under her leadership.
As well as building up IFM’s overseas headcounts, Ms Bowtell said that the fund would also look to do more deals as part of consortiums. These funds also have traditionally not invested heavily in infrastructure, meaning IFM could pitch its expertise and experience.“For [Europe and the UK], it’s a relatively new asset class, and they’re learning about that asset class, but we see great opportunities to partner with both defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans,” Ms Bowtell said.
But Ms Bowtell denied this was an issue, pointing out that six of the board’s eight directors did not have Labor links and that “the proof is in the pudding” with its strong performance.