FAQ

 

What is the MGU ticker?

The Macquarie Global Infrastructure Total Return Fund is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and traded under the ticker MGU.

When did MGU list on the NYSE?

MGU listed on the NYSE on August 26, 2005.

How much in gross proceeds were raised from the Funds initial public offering?

Gross proceeds of $425,000,000 were raised at an initial price of $25 per share and 17,000,000 Common Shares were issued.

How do I invest in MGU?

As MGU is listed on the NYSE, MGU shares can be purchased through any registered broker. Please contact your broker or financial advisor who can help determine if an investment in the Fund is suitable for you.

Who is the Fund’s advisor?

Macquarie Capital Investment Management, LLC (MCIM), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, is the investment advisor to MGU and is responsible for determining the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing implementation through day-to-day portfolio management, subject to the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors. MCIM is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie Group) and a part of Macquarie Funds Group (MFG), the global asset management business of Macquarie Group, and MFG's Macquarie Investment Management Infrastructure Securities division.

Does MCIM advise any other funds?

MCIM advises a number of other US nad non-US collective investment vehicles. Among other clients, MCIM also acts as a sub-advisor to the Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend & Income Fund (MFD) and the Macquarie Emerging Markets Infrastructure Income Fund.

What is the difference between MGU and MFD?

In general, MGU is growth orientated with a focus on high total return (consisting of dividends and other income, and capital appreciation) and MFD is focused on stable current yield. For example, MGU is able to invest in non-OECD countries (such as China and India), whereas MFD invests in primarily in OECD countries. MGU is also able to apply its leverage to investments in equity stocks, whereas MFD is restricted to investing its leverage into floating rate loans.

There is also a difference in the way the two portfolios are managed. The MGU portfolio is more actively managed to optimize total returns, whereas the MFD portfolio employs a lower turnover, buy-and-hold strategy.

Please refer to the prospectus for each fund for a full description of its respective investment objectives and parameters. Please consult with your financial advisor to determine if either fund would be a suitable investment for you.

Who is Macquarie Group?

For information on Macquarie Group, please click here.

Who is Macquarie Funds Group?

For information on Macquarie Funds Group, please click here.

How does the Fund seek to achieve its investment objective?

MGU aims to provide investors with a high level of total return consisting of dividends and other income, and capital appreciation by investing at least 80 per cent of its total assets in equity and equity like securities issued by US and non-US issuers that primarily own or operate infrastructure assets ('Infrastructure Issuers').

In pursuit of its investment objective, MGU will also seek to manage its investment so that at least 25 per cent of its distributions may qualify as tax-advantaged 'qualified dividend income' for US federal tax income purposes.

For important information on tax (on this website), click here.

What are the Fund's main portfolio construction guidelines?

Under normal market conditions, the Fund intends to apply the following portfolio guidelines with respect to the Fund’s total assets:

  • up to 5 per cent may be invested in securities issued by any single Infrastructure Issuer
  • up to 30 per cent may be invested in any country that is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), excluding the US (which may be up to 50 per cent)
  • up to 10 per cent may be invested in any one non-OECD country
  • up to 30 per cent may be invested in all non-OECD countries combined.

Does the Fund apply leverage?

The Fund intends to utilize leverage through the issuance of leverage instruments. The Fund may not use leverage at all times and the amount of leverage may vary depending upon a number of factors, including the Investment Manager's outlook for the market and the costs that the Fund would incur as a result of such leverage.

The Fund will not issue leverage instruments with an aggregate issue price exceeding 33 1/3% (in the case of debt) or 50% (in the case of preferred stock) of the Fund's total assets (including the proceeds from the issuance of leverage instruments) in each case at the time such leverage instruments are issued. Following the issuance of leverage instruments, however, the balance of outstanding leverage instruments may exceed 33 1/3% or 50% (as applicable) of the Fund's total assets due to a reduction in the value of the Fund's total assets, subject to restrictions on leverage imposed by the 1940 Act. The leverage instruments would have complete priority upon distribution of assets over common shares.

Although the timing and other terms of the offering of leverage instruments and the terms of the leverage instruments would be determined by the Board, in consultation with the investment advisor the Fund expects to invest any proceeds derived from any leverage instrument offering in securities consistent with the Fund's investment objective and policies. The Fund's use of leverage will create special risks.

As of 31 October 2011, The Fund had outstanding leverage instruments in an aggregate amount of approximately 25% of the Fund's total assets, including proceeds from the issuance of such leverage instruments.

Why invest in infrastructure?

Infrastructure assets typically provide the necessities of everyday life, such as: fresh water, roads, airports, gas, power, district heating and cooling, hospitals, schools and other social services. They are an important underlying foundation of basic services, facilities and institutions upon which the growth and development of a community depends.

For more information on the potential benefits of investing in infrastructure, click here to read an ‘Introduction to Infrastructure’ on this website.

What are the risks?

Investing in the Fund involves risks, and the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective for a variety of reasons. The following discussion summarizes some of the risks that an investor should consider before deciding whether to invest in the Fund. For additional information about the risks associated with investing in the Fund, see 'Additional Information About the Fund’s Investments and Investment Risk' in the Prospectus and SAI.

Advisor risk

MCIM is an investment advisor and member of Macquarie Group. Macquarie Group has experience in the assessment and valuation of infrastructure assets and experience with the operational and regulatory risks faced by infrastructure issuers. There can be no assurance that a suitable replacement could be found for Macquarie Group in the event that its resources become unavailable to MCIM. The Fund is also subject to risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. MCIM will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results.

Industry concentration and infrastructure industry risk

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will seek to invest at least 80 per cent of its total assets in equity securities and securities and instruments with equity characteristics that are issued by infrastructure issuers. Given the concentration of the Fund’s assets in the infrastructure industry, the Fund will be more susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting that industry than an investment company that is not concentrated in a single industry. Infrastructure issuers are typically subject to a variety of factors that my adversely affect their business or operations, including high interest costs in connection with capital construction programs, costs associated with environmental and other regulations, the effects of economic slowdowns and surplus capacity, increased competition from other providers of services, uncertainties concerning the cost of energy and the effects of energy conservation policies. Infrastructure issuers may be subject to regulation by various governmental authorities and may also be affected by governmental regulation of rates charged to customers, service interruption due to environmental, operational or other mishaps, the imposition of special tariffs and changes in tax laws, regulatory policies and accounting standards.

Non-US investment risk

The Fund may invest up to 100 per cent of its total assets in the securities and instruments of non-US issuers. Investments in the securities and instruments of non-US issuers involve certain considerations and risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of US issuers. Non-US companies are not necessarily subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to US companies. Non-US securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies may be subject to less government supervision and regulation than exists in the United States. Dividend and interest income may be subject to non-US withholding and other taxes, which may adversely affect the net return on such investments.

Emerging market risk

The Fund may invest in countries that are considered emerging market countries at the time of purchase. The Fund’s investments in emerging markets are subject to all of the risks described in 'Non-US Investments Risk' and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets.

Foreign (non-US) currency risk

The Fund’s common shares are priced in US Foreign (non-US) Currency Risk dollars and the distributions paid by the Fund are paid in US dollars. However, a significant portion of the Fund’s assets may be denominated in foreign (non-US) currencies. There is the risk that the value of such assets and/or the value of any distributions from such assets may decrease if the currency in which such assets are priced or in which they make distributions falls in relation to the value of the US dollar.

Market disruption and geopolitical risk

The aftermath of the war with Iraq, the continuing occupation of Iraq, instability in the Middle East and terrorist attacks in the United States and around the world have had a substantial impact on the US and world economies and securities markets. The nature, scope and duration of the war and the occupation cannot be predicted with any certainty. These risks could also adversely affect individual issuers and securities markets, interest rates, secondary trading, rating, investor psychology, credit risk inflation and other factors relating to the common shares and the investments made by the Fund.

New project risk

Where the Fund invests in new infrastructure projects, it is likely to retain some residual risk that the project will not be completed within budget, within the agreed time frame and to the agreed specification.

Investment and market risk

An investment in the Fund’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire amount invested. An investment in common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities and instruments owned by the Fund, of which a large proportion will be traded on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter markets. The Fund’s share price will fluctuate and, at the time of sale, shares may be worth more or less than the original investment or the Fund’s then-current net asset value. The Fund cannot predict whether its shares will trade at a price at, above or below its net asset value.

Equity risk

The NAV of the Fund’s common shares will change as the prices of its portfolio investments go up or down. Equity securities face market, issuer and other risks, and their prices may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably.

Interest rate risk of preferred, hybrid and debt securities

Interest rate risk includes the risk that debt securities and securities with debt-like characteristics, including preferred and hybrid securities, will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates. Equity Securities. The income and profits of many of the issuers in which the Fund might invest may be sensitive to interest rate fluctuations and therefore changes in the level of interest rates may have a direct bearing on the issuers’ ability to pay dividends or make distributions.

Infrastructure assets

Infrastructure assets can be highly leveraged. As such, movements in the level of interest rates may affect the returns from these assets more significantly than other assets in some instances.

Debt securities risk

The Fund may invest up to 20 per cent of its total assets in debt securities, which are subject to interest rate risk. See 'Risks—Interest Rate Risk.' They also carry the risk that the issuer or the guarantor of a security will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or otherwise to honor its obligations. This risk is particularly pronounced for lower-quality, high yielding debt securities. There is no minimum credit rating for the debt securities in which the Fund may invest.

Risk of hedging and use of derivatives

Derivatives can be illiquid, may disproportionately increase losses, and may have a potentially large impact on the Fund’s performance. Certain of the investment techniques that the Fund may employ for hedging or, under certain circumstances, to increase income or total return will expose the Fund to additional risks.

Illiquid and unlisted securities risk

Under normal market conditions, the Fund may invest up to 15 per cent of its total assets in unlisted securities and other instruments of infrastructure issuers. Such securities and instruments are generally not publicly traded. In the United States, such securities and instruments are generally unregistered for securities law purposes and can generally be resold only in privately negotiated transactions with a limited number of purchasers or in a public offering registered under the Securities Act. Outside the United States, similar restrictions may apply.

Leverage risk

The Fund may utilize leverage through the issuance of leverage instruments. In the event the Fund utilizes leverage, there can be no assurance that the Fund’s leverage strategy will be successful. Leverage involves risks and special considerations for investors including:

    • the likelihood of greater volatility of NAV and market price of the common shares than a comparable portfolio without leverage
    • the risk that fluctuations in interest rates or dividend rates on leverage instruments issued by the Fund will reduce the return to the investors or will result in fluctuations in the dividends paid on the common shares
    • the effect of leverage in a declining market, which is likely to cause a greater decline in the NAV of the Fund (and the market price of the common shares) than if the Fund were not leveraged
    • when the Fund uses leverage instruments, the investment advisory fees payable to the Advisor will be higher than if the Fund did not use leverage.

Dependence on key personnel

The Fund is dependent upon the expertise of Mr. Andrew Maple-Brown, the Fund’s portfolio manager. If MCIM were to lose the services of Mr. Maple-Brown, the Fund would not be adversely affected as the remaining individuals on the Fund's investment team who serve as portfolio managers for other portfolios that are similar to MGU would replace Mr. Maple-Brown.

Non-diversified status

The Fund is classified as a 'non-diversified' investment company under the 1940 Act, which means the Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act in the proportion of its assets that may be invested in the securities and instruments of a single issuer. As a nondiversified investment company, the Fund may invest in the securities and instruments of individual issuers to a greater degree than a diversified investment company. As a result, the Fund may be more vulnerable to events affecting a single issuer and, therefore, subject to greater volatility than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

Temporary defensive strategies risk

When the Advisor anticipates unusual market or other conditions, the Fund may temporarily depart from its principal investment strategies as a defensive measure. To the extent that the Fund invests defensively, it likely will not achieve its investment objectives.

Anti-takeover provisions

The Maryland General Corporation Law and the Fund’s charter and bylaws include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund, to convert the Fund to open-end status, or to change the composition of the Fund’s board of directors. These provisions, as well as other provisions of Maryland law and the Fund’s charter and bylaws, could have the effect of discouraging, delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might otherwise be in the best interests of stockholders.

Certain other risks

An Investment in the Fund is subject to certain other risks described in the Fund’s Prospectus and SAI.

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