J.P. Morgan Raises Distressed Shipping Fund
J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives has closed a $480 million fund to invest in distressed shipping assets, attracting capital from pensions, endowments and insurance companies, reports Financial News London.
The Global Maritime Investment Fund II, 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 values trading near historical lows.
The idea is to pick up bargains in an industry that JP describes as a "workhorse" of the global economy.
Prices of the most widely-used vessels dropped by between 60% to 80% in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis and, while they have recovered since, still lag their 10-year averages by up to a quarter, the fund manager says.
“With an estimated $4.5 trillion-plus in capital required to finance global transportation assets over the next 10 years, this is a large-scale and wide-ranging investment opportunity,” the newspaper report quoted Anton Pil, Managing Partner of J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives, as saying.
JP Morgan has already deployed $312m of its funds on 14 vessels.