Improving fees in infrastructure - October 2009
In this paper we outline our views on the often complex fee structures involved when investing in infrastructure. Most of the infrastructure funds we research are structured as private equity type vehicles with similar fee structures. The features of these fee scales include: fees based on commitments rather than invested capital, high management fees of 1-2 per cent, hurdle rates of around 8 per cent, carried interest of 20 per cent, full catch-up (sometimes phased in), additional fees and charges, such as transaction or financing fees and fund expenses. We have concerns about a number of these features and explore them in more detail in the paper.