Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors has launched a renewable infrastructure index, a collaboration with S&P Dow Jones Indices.
“Much like Kayne Anderson helped establish master limited partnerships, or ‘MLPs,’ as an asset class two decades ago, Kayne is seeking to define the renewable infrastructure sector as a distinct asset class for investors,” the company said in a statement. “Like other areas of the energy infrastructure industry, Kayne believes renewable infrastructure has many favorable attributes that should resonate with investors.”
Kayne began investing in listed renewable infrastructure in 2013 and established its first dedicated renewable infrastructure fund in 2017. Today, the Century City firm manages approximately $1.5 billion in listed renewable infrastructure, making it one of the largest managers in the rapidly growing sector.
Kayne also has a renewable infrastructure fund that was started in 2020 under the ticker KARIX. As of September of last year, the fund’s total assets equaled $117 million, with minimum investments of $250,000.
The new renewable infrastructure index, which was announced last month, has the ticker KRII.
“Kayne is very excited to launch KRII. Renewable infrastructure is one of the most attractive investment opportunities in the global infrastructure sector and this index helps define the universe of publicly traded companies,” J.C. Frey, co-head of Kayne’s renewable infrastructure strategies, said in a statement. “The energy transition is a global megatrend that will benefit the renewable infrastructure sector for the next several decades. In addition to the sector’s investment attributes, we are proud to invest in companies that are providing the infrastructure to transition the world to renewable energy.”
KRII is a modified floated-adjusted market cap-weighted index comprised of publicly traded companies that derive most of their revenues from renewable energy infrastructure and related businesses.
“While it is clear investors are interested in renewable energy, until now there has not been a transparent index to define the opportunity set for listed renewable infrastructure companies,” Jim Baker, co-head of Kayne’s energy infrastructure platform, said in a statement. “Just like Kayne Anderson helped establish the MLP sector, Kayne is proud to collaborate with S&P Dow Jones Indices to launch what we believe will be the index that helps define the sector as an asset class.”
The index’s companies are primarily represented by power producer companies, followed by energy utilities companies and firms in other renewable infrastructure sectors. Some U.S.-based companies include NextEra Energy, Clearway Energy Group, and AES Corporation, the latter of which reported $10.19 billion in revenue in 2019.
“It is clear the world needs both renewables and traditional energy to power the global economy,” Al Rabil, CEO of Kayne Anderson, said in a statement.
