Lazard Asset Management has rolled out its first exchange-traded fund ( ETF ) in Australia, offering investors access to an actively managed ETF portfolio of listed infrastructure companies.

The actively managed ETF consists of 25 to 50 companies from a select subset of the global infrastructure market that Lazard believes provide higher revenue predictability, profitability, and lower volatility.

The Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Active ETF ( GIFL ) has been successfully implemented by the same team that launched Lazard’s first global infrastructure fund almost two decades ago and is listed on Cboe Global Markets.

GIFL is a unit class of the Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Fund which launched in 2005 and has about US$1.32 billion of funds under management.

“By investing in the equities of listed infrastructure operators, such as electricity networks, toll roads, and other essential assets and related services, investors can gain exposure to predictable long-term earnings streams,” says Warryn Robertson, portfolio manager and analyst on Lazard’s global listed infrastructure team.

“In our view, not all infrastructure is created equal. Our unique approach focuses on a ‘preferred’ subset providing an asset class that can deliver clear benefits: diversification, lower volatility and inflation protection.”

Traditionally correlated with long-term modest returns, the infrastructure sector is undergoing a transition supported by the demand for new environmentally friendly and sustainable infrastructure.