Markit has employed the help of Deutsche Asset Management’s research and infrastructure teams to expand its iBoxx tool with the launch of infrastructure corporate bond indices.
Deutsche Asset Management provided Markit with research and “market expertise” on infrastructure debt to help develop the indices.
The infrastructure indices provide investors with a benchmark to track the performance of companies in the energy, telecommunications, transportation and utilities sectors
Markit said infrastructure investments “continue to attract increasing investor attention due to the established link with long-term economic growth.”
Over the last five years, growth in infrastructure debt has increased 60%, further fuelling investor interest, Markit added.
Jorge Rodriguez, head of Infrastructure debt at Deutsche Asset Management, explained the growing interest meant there was a “need to develop a set of infrastructure debt indices.”
He added that Markit’s indices “provide investors with additional transparency to evaluate infrastructure debt risk and return from several perspectives.”
Ibrahim Kara, director of index research at IHS Markit, concluded the ‘evolution’ of infrastructure investing had reached a stage where access to high-quality benchmarks was crucial.