J.P. Morgan Asset Management has closed its Global Maritime Investment Fund II with $480m in capital commitments from a broad range of international institutional investors, including pension plans, insurance companies, and endowment and health care entities.
The fund, which surpassed its $400 million targeted capital raise, is one of the largest dedicated shipping funds. It seeks to invest, through a closed end structure, in modern vessels operating in shipping sub-sectors that are experiencing substantial distress, with the fund suggesting in a release that values are trading “near historical lows”.
The fund has already invested $312m or 65% of total capital through the acquisition of 14 assets.
“With an estimated $4.5trn-plus in capital required to finance global transportation assets over the next 10 years, this is a large-scale and wide-ranging investment opportunity,” said Anton Pil, managing partner of J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives, “Institutional investors, seeking uncorrelated and high relative value returns, have discovered this growing, sustainable opportunity to own and lease tangible assets that form the foundation of our interdependent global economy.”
“In the shipping space, investors are capitalising on an historic opportunity to acquire quality assets at very favourable prices,” continued Andy Dacy, head of global transportation, J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives. “Our established and dedicated transportation investment team with an extensive industry network has been able to acquire vessels at distressed purchase prices, achieving opportunistic-level returns with unlevered cash-on-cash yields averaging 8%, even in what is a historically low charter rate environment.”
