Apex Group has expanded its relationship with Federation Asset Management to administer its new Sustainable Australian Real Asset Trust (SARA), an energy-transition investment fund.
Apex has been mandated by Federation to provide fund administration, share registry and regulatory services – in Australian Tax & FATCA/CRS reporting – to the fund.
SARA will invest in renewable energy projects and developments, energy storage systems and other sustainable infrastructure initiatives across Australia and New Zealand.
The SARA trust is targeting AUS$750m in capital commitments and launched in December 2020.
The deal follows the recent launch of Apex’s subsidiary, Throgmorton Australia, a registered tax agent and ASIC agent, providing locally delivered tax compliance services in addition to accounting, HR, payroll, and company secretarial services to Australian clients.
The mandate also comes at a time when Apex is aiming to increase its Australian presence through a bid to acquire Mainstream Group.
“There is an exciting growth opportunity in the Australian renewables sector as the transition to a low carbon economy gets underway,” said Valerie Mantot-Groene, regional managing director, APAC at Apex Group.
“We are delighted to partner with longstanding Apex client, Federation, to support their innovative role in driving that transition. By providing flexible and reliable fund administration solutions we will allow the Federation management team to focus on the job at hand: identifying and executing investment opportunities which will fuel the energy transition.”