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London 27 April 2020: Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager, surpassed its previous record for retail funds raised in a single tax year, attracting in excess of £650 million in the tax year 2019/20.

In a period of considerable market volatility, there was continuing strong demand for Foresight Capital Management’s (FCM’s) Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs), FP Foresight UK Infrastructure Income Fund (FIIF) and FP Foresight Global Real Infrastructure Fund (GRIF), which saw net inflows of more than £450 million in the period.

Following the successful foray into the OEIC market with the launch of FIIF in December 2017, which saw Foresight being awarded Fund Manager of the Year at the PLC Awards in February 2019, Foresight Capital Management launched its second OEIC, GRIF in June of 2019, and funds under management for FIIF and GRIF had grown rapidly to some £571 million by 31 March 2020. The infrastructure focused OEICS have proved resilient during the volatility experienced by capital markets throughout the period and more recently during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Demand for Foresight VCT plc, one of the UK’s strongest performing VCTs since launch, saw it raise its target of £25 million in just 10 weeks.

In March 2020, Foresight relaunched the Foresight Accelerated Inheritance Tax Solution (Foresight Accelerated ITS), which combines Business Relief with a Group Life Insurance Policy with a new policy option of Joint Life Second Death (JLSD). JLSD has the advantage of reducing the insurance costs for married couples or those living in civil partnerships who automatically benefit from interspousal transfer on the first death, offering to payout on the second death, to give certainty of protection for beneficiaries until the investment should qualify for Business Relief.

Commenting on the record fundraise, Mike Currie, Partner at Foresight said: “Our 35-year track record of investing for a smarter future, supporting small businesses across the UK and specialising in renewable energy infrastructure, is a powerful story that resonates with advisers and their clients. People are looking for products that show resilience to market volatility, predictable revenue streams and smart innovations that meet their needs. We are grateful to all the advisers and their clients for putting their trust in Foresight”