Principal launches first UCITS fund for US corporate hybrids, eyeing AI power demand
What's the deal? Principal Asset ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has launched the PGIF Spectrum North American Corporate Hybrid Income Fund, a UCITS strategy targeting financing demand from AI-related power infrastructure. It is the first fund dedicated to US dollar-denominated North American corporate hybrid securities, focused on utilities and energy companies.
What's the endgame? The fund chases opportunities created by rising investment in AI power infrastructure, including electric grid buildout, data centres, the energy transition, and utility network modernisation. Spectrum Asset ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Principal's specialist preferred and capital securities manager, will run it.
Why now? US utility capital expenditure is expected to reach around $248 billion by 2029, creating significant financing needs across the sector. The corporate hybrid market, meanwhile, has historically been concentrated in Europe.
"Utilities and energy companies will need significant capital to meet rising electricity demand, expand capacity, support data centre growth, and modernise the grid," said Mark Lieb, president and chief executive officer of Spectrum Asset ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. He added that the fund gives investors access to "a segment of the market that has historically been difficult to reach through dedicated UCITS strategies."
The signal: The launch reflects how the AI infrastructure buildout is reshaping credit markets, pulling capital toward the utilities and grid projects that will power data centres. Principal is betting that a US-focused hybrid strategy can capture demand that European-centric products have overlooked.
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