Response to the Coronavirus Outbreak

IFM Investors’ response to the COVID-19 coronavirus

IFM Investors’ response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic prioritises the safety and wellbeing of the public and our workers (employees and other representatives), and detailed plans to protect our investments and millions of people’s retirement savings.

We invest across the asset classes of listed equities, debt investments, infrastructure and private equity. Our infrastructure investments include vital public assets such as transport and energy infrastructure that we responsibly manage for the long term.

Our Business Continuity Plan includes plans for a global pandemic and its impacts on IFM Investors’ workers, our business operations and our investments.

Our blanket restriction on all international and domestic air travel by employees for business purposes continues and with the exception of our Hong Kong and Seoul offices which recently reopened, all IFM employees across our offices around the world continue to work from home. Our workforce is being supported to work from home in a variety of ways, and to date, these arrangements are working well.

IFM Investors is not alone in facing these challenges but we are unique in the world of funds management.

We are compelled through our ownership by 27 all-profit-to-member Australian industry super funds to act not only in the best interests of our investors, but the public and communities in which we invest.

Infrastructure

We are focused on plans with our portfolio companies that prioritise the safety of all people while working with government authorities and agencies, and ensuring business continuity of the critical services to the communities we serve.

Incident response plans are in place for all our infrastructure assets globally.

Listed equities

We are actively monitoring Global and Australian markets and communicating important information to investors as it comes to hand.

Investment markets are obviously extremely volatile, however our operations are continuing as normal.

Both our Active and Index teams continue to invest in line with existing mandates and fund objectives.

Debt

Our Debt Investment teams, encompassing Treasury Services, Diversified Credit and Infrastructure Debt, have all tested business continuity plans and are now executing normal operations remotely. Our normal control functions are unaffected.

Our Treasury Services team is focused on the liquidity of portfolios to meet cashflow requirements. Our Diversified Credit and Infrastructure Debt teams are also focused on liquidity of portfolios to meet cashflow requirements for committed investments. They will be taking a conservative approach with regard to the existing pipeline opportunities.

Private Equity

IFM Investors’ active directly held companies all have business continuity plans in place including specific COVID-19 strategies and we are closely monitoring these on a regular basis.