Macquarie Bank (now Macquarie Group) has risen from a small, Australian subsidiary of a UK investment bank to become one of the world’s most prominent banks. It is particularly prominent in the field of infrastructure where an innovative, specialist approach to investing and structuring has given it a platform to grow assets and revenues and secure early market share in an infrastructure privatisation renaissance.
Macquarie Group successful international expansion began with the accumulation of specialist skills in “real asset” management and investing. This is primarily due to its location in Australia where it benefited from two simultaneous and important developments: the willingness of governments to seek more creative forms of infrastructure finance coincided with the expansion of superannuation funds and their capacity to invest in these projects.
Superannuation funds in Australia recognised early that their aim to provide long-term, stable income for retirement could be facilitated by investing in infrastructure, which can provide a good liability match. In Australia, industry funds are the fastest growing sector of the pension market, and this is where the most interest in infrastructure assets can be seen (Deloitte, 2007). One major Australian consultant to industry funds has a typically very high allocation (approximately 5 to 8%) within balanced portfolios (Baltazar, 2008). In the mid-1990’s the Australian Federal Government changed the landscape for retirement savings in the country by legislating compulsory retirement savings schemes, or superannuation. Superannuation funds have long had allocations to real assets such as real estate and infrastructure creating steady demand for expertise in this area ...