JP Morgan Asset Management sold nearly 150m shares during the initial public offering of its Global Core Real Assets Ltd trust.
The investment trust — nicknamed Jara — launched its IPO in July and the board today (September 23) confirmed 148m ordinary shares have been sold, raising a total of £148.9m for the trust.
According to JP Morgan, the trust will float and start trading on the London Stock Exchange tomorrow.
Jara will invest in more than 500 private assets across asset classes and regions, from global real estate and infrastructure to transport assets and airports.
It has a target total return of 7 - 9 per cent and the starting net asset value is estimated to be 99.01 pence per ordinary share.
The trust aims to give investors a vehicle through which to diversify into real assets that are uncorrelated with equities and bonds, according to JP Morgan.
Simon Crinage, head of investment trusts at JP Morgan Asset Management, said: “We’re delighted with this launch which marks a new chapter for our investment trust business.
“Offering access to our global real asset capabilities through the closed end fund structure for the first time, backed by one of the world’s leading managers of core real assets strategies, has been a long time in the works as we sought to build a differentiated product which would truly meet the needs of today’s investors.”
Mr Crinage said Jara could offer a predictable income stream in “testing times” where the “search for yield” remained front and centre for many investors.
Chairman at the firm John Scott said the well-supported fundraising effort was a testament to the shared conviction in what Jara was seeking to deliver.
He added: “We can now turn our attention towards delivering this objective and growing the company.”
Tom Sparke, investment manager at GDIM, said: “This looks to be an investment trust that could offer genuine diversification to portfolios as well as enhancing yields and returns.
“The mixture of real estate, transport investments and other non-traditional assets provide investors with exposure to assets that are sometimes difficult to own.
“As the potential pool of investments is so wide the valuations of the underlying assets should matter less, but there will undoubtedly be an element of cyclicality to the vehicle, meaning that one could expect better returns in times of economic expansion.”
imogen.tew@ft.com
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