如何投資一條收費公路

FOR MOST OF US, a toll road is just another expense. But for a family with vast resources and a long investment horizon, it can be something quite different: a source of income.

在我們中的大多數人看來，收費公路不過意味着又一項開銷。但對一個擁有大量資源和長期投資眼光的家庭來說，它卻有着截然不同的意義──那可是一項投資收入來源。

In growing numbers, rich families are investing in infrastructure, putting their money to work on remote mountaintops, bustling harbors and across deserts the world over. This broad category covers the structures and systems needed to keep economies running and growing. So think highways, public transit, power plants, telecom backbones─and don't forget schools, hospitals, dumpsites and ports. 'We see it all the time,' says Alan Harter, of Pactolus Private Wealth Management, a registered investment adviser in McLean, Va.

越來越多的富裕家庭正在對基礎設施建設進行投資。他們把資金投向全球偏遠的山區、忙碌的港口和茫茫沙漠上的建設項目。這一領域十分廣泛，涵蓋了爲保持經濟運行和增長所需的設施和系統建設，有公路、公共交通系統、發電廠、電信主幹線──也別忘了學校、醫院、垃圾處理廠和港口。弗吉尼亞州麥克萊恩(McLean)的註冊投資顧問、Pactolus私人財富管理公司(Pactolus Private Wealth Management)的阿蘭•哈特(Alan Harter)說：“我們一直在關注這些領域。”哈特的公司管理着大約4.3億美元資產。

Most wealthy families get into infrastructure the same way other investors do: indirectly. They buy stock in multinationals whose wares and services generally accompany development─outfits like Caterpillar, Haliburton and IBM . But some are making direct investments. These hands-on deals can involve private-investor groups that come together to build or buy projects and operate them over a relatively long period.

基建投資增長曲線：美國vs.全球與其他投資者一樣，大多數富裕家庭採用間接投資的方式進入基礎設施建設領域。他們買入卡特彼勒(Caterpillar)、哈里伯頓(Haliburton)和IBM等跨國公司的股票──基礎設施建設的開展通常離不開這些公司提供的產品和服務。不過也有人選擇直接投資。這些由投資者親自操作的項目可能涉及私人投資者團體，他們一同建設或買下項目，並在一段相對較長的時間裏運營這些項目。

The Presidio Parkway, a six-lane toll road that will connect the city of San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge, is one project that some private investor groups are considering. In another case, Citi Infrastructure Investors, Ullico and J.P. Morgan Asset Management Infrastructure Investments Group have been looking at putting money into Chicago-area projects. One deal calls for spending up to $225 million to reduce energy consumption at municipal facilities. The savings initially would be used to pay back the private investors with interest.

新普雷西迪奧風景公路(Presidio Parkway)是一條擬建的連接舊金山市和金門大橋(Golden Gate Bridge)的六車道收費公路，一些私人投資者團體正在考慮這個項目。與此同時，花旗基礎設施投資者基金(Citi Infrastructure Investors)、Ullico和摩根大通資產管理基礎設施投資集團(J.P. Morgan Asset Management Infrastructure Investments Group)則一直打算把資金投向芝加哥地區的項目。其中一個項目需投入高達2.25億美元用於市政設施的節能改造，而通過節能省下來的錢，將首先用於償付私人投資者的資金和利息。

Some of the infrastructure investors─Harter calls them 'uber bulge bracket families'─still run businesses that made them rich. Infrastructure is central to their wealth-building strategies; securities can account for as little as 15 percent of their portfolios, says Harter. Some are still steamed about the stock market in 2008, which saw the average U.S. millionaire's securities portfolio shed about 30 percent of its value, according to research firm Spectrem Group. This distrust sometimes extends to other alternatives. 'Our clients look distastefully on blind-pool' investments such as hedge funds, says Harter, whose firm manages about $430 million.

一些基礎設施建設投資者仍在運營着曾使他們致富的事業。哈特將他們稱爲“超級投行家庭”(uber bulge bracket families)。哈特說，基礎設施建設投資是這些人財富積累策略的核心，而證券可能只佔他們投資組合中的15%。調研公司斯佩特蘭集團(Spectrem Group)稱，一些人仍然對2008年股市的表現耿耿於懷。那一年，美國百萬富翁人羣的證券投資組合的價值平均縮水大約30%。有時，這種不信任感也會殃及其他替代產品。哈特說，“我們的客戶對淨殼公司(blind-pool)一類的投資並不感興趣”──比如對衝基金。

They also want in on growth in emerging markets, where many of these projects are occurring. But they want to get in on it first-hand, in keeping with a post-2008 move toward assets you can hold or walk on─gold, collectibles like wine and art, and types of construction and real estate that seem likely to produce cash over long periods.

如今，新興市場中有很多這樣的項目，投資者也想從新興市場的增長中分一杯羹。不過他們想要親身參與其中──2008年後，投資者轉而追捧那些可以持有或是實實在在的資產，比如黃金、葡萄酒和藝術品等收藏品，以及那些可以產生長期現金收益的建築和房產。

But there's a bigger impetus for this burgeoning interest in infrastructure investing, says David Friedman of Wealth-X, a marketing consultancy to firms with rich customers: The families involved tend to think they're better at making money than garden-variety investment managers. 'They want their wealth managers to hedge risk around a liquid portfolio' in the name of capital preservation, says Friedman. But to generate steadier and bigger returns over time 'they want to put risk capital in things they know.'

Wealth-X的大衛•弗裏德曼(David Friedman)爲一些擁有富人客戶的公司提供營銷顧問服務，他說，在這股對基礎設施投資猛增的興趣背後還有一個更大的推動力。他說，這些家庭通常認爲他們比一般的投資經理更懂得如何賺錢。弗裏德曼說，出於保全資本的目的，“他們希望自己的理財經理通過易變現的投資組合來對衝風險”，但爲了在一段時間內獲得更穩定、更豐厚的回報，“他們會把風險資本投向自己熟悉的領域”。

So a family that's willing to plunk down $15 million to go thirds on a container dock in Djibouti is apt to know something about piers already, or the Horn of Africa, or both─or be in close cahoots with people who do. For these projects, cash-out doesn't come in 10 years and it's not predicated on a sale. These investors measure investment return in terms of cash flow through the operating life of a project, or for an agreed-on period that's likely to span decades, says Harter. Indeed, one U.S. family is eight years into a multi-country waterworks deal that has yet to pay a dime, says Norman Anderson, of CG/LA Infrastructure, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that develops projects around the world.

這就是說，一個願意砸下1500萬美金與另外兩家出資者共同參與吉布提(Djibouti)集裝箱碼頭項目的家庭，要麼是對碼頭建設或非洲之角(Horn of Africa)多少有些瞭解（或者是對兩者都有了解），要麼就是正在和內行人緊密合作。在這些項目的運作中，10年內不能撤資，且項目也不會出售。哈特說，這些投資者會根據一個項目的運營週期、或是一段經過商定的可能長達數十年時間內的現金流來衡量投資回報。CG/LA Infrastructure的諾曼•安德森(Norman Anderson)說，我確實知道，有個美國家庭參與一個跨國供水系統項目已長達八年，但至今尚未獲得分文回報。CG/LA Infrastructure的總部位於華盛頓，該公司在全球範圍開發項目。

This kind of patience calls for deep pockets. Management fees and the occasional need to retain local experts can also add to the cost. But David Doll offers a reservation beyond hefty antes and long lockdowns. 'These deals are fraught with 'translation errors,' ' says Doll, who runs Sequent Asset Management in Houston, an investment-advice firm for the ultra-rich that manages $400 million. 'You're talking about different accounting standards, different business practices.' Unstable local governments can be another risk.

擁有這種耐心需要雄厚的資本。管理費和臨時僱傭當地專家的開銷都會導致成本增加。而大衛•多爾(David Doll)提出了除了賭注過重和資金長期被鎖定之外另一個需要考慮的問題。他說：“這些項目充滿了‘解釋偏差’，你們在談論的是不同的會計標準和不同的業務慣例。”當地政府的不穩定也會是一個風險。多爾在休斯敦運營一家爲富豪提供投資建議的公司Sequent Asset Management，該公司管理着4億美元資產。

Given all the complications, direct infrastructure strikes Anderson as an expensive way to get an 8 percent or 12 percent return on investments─the standard range, he says. You also don't get a break on the toll, even if you own the road.

安德森說，若將所有這些複雜因素考慮在內，在他看來，爲獲得8%到12%的投資回報率──這是比較常見的回報率水平──直接投資基礎設施可是個昂貴的選擇。即便你擁有這條收費公路，還是一樣躲不過收費站。