Investec Bank Australia has attracted the Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund as a significant new investor to its Global Aircraft Fund (GAF).
The fund recently raised around $50 million under its open ended third capital raising, Investec GAF executive David Phillips said.
"The majority of this new capital was raised from new investor, the Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund," he said.
"We have spent a considerable amount of time working with Catholic Super and are pleased to welcome them into the fund as a significant new investor."
The fund has raised a total of $190 million since inception in 2008.
"Of the $190 million of existing capital, $100 million is invested in eight aircraft, with the remaining $90 million earmarked for a number of new acquisitions which the fund is currently progressing," he said.
"If the current transactions we are working on close within the expected timeframe we are on track to expand our aircraft fleet to over 20 planes with a total value in excess of $1 billion by early next year."
The investment from the Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund comes as Investec outlined the benefits of investing in the aircraft industry at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia conference.
"Globally, air traffic is forecast to grow by 5.3 per cent per annum over the next 20 years which is expected to drive delivery of over 30,000 aircraft and a funding requirement of approximately $3.5 trillion," Phillips said.
"The increasing demand by airlines for operating leases presents a compelling opportunity for investors to capture high quality returns."
