Infrastructure Private Debt
Investment Approach
Our Infrastructure Debt Strategy provides a diversifying private credit solution to investors, targeting attractive cash yield with meaningful downside protection. The strategy is focused on originating and managing a diverse portfolio of North American private debt investments in infrastructure projects, with a particular focus on middle market opportunities that offer superior returns due to illiquidity premiums.
Track Record
We bring specialized credit expertise to identify and structure debt investment opportunities in Canadian and American infrastructure projects. Our long-standing industry relationships drive proprietary deal flow, where we seek an optimal position in the debt capital structure to drive strong risk-adjusted returns.
The senior team at Fiera Private Debt has built one of Canada’s leading non-bank private debt platforms, with over $900 million invested in infrastructure debt while achieving targeted returns over the last 15 years.
Key principles
- Attractive risk-adjusted returns
- Strong and stable cash yield
- Complexity and illiquidity premiums
- Downside protection from long-term, hard assets as collateral
- Lower risk profile due to meaningful covenants, contracted cash flows, and allocation of risks
- Strategically diversified across infrastructure sub-sectors, geographic regions of Canada and the U.S.
- Low correlation to broader market and business cycle-sensitive holdings
Hightlights
Diversification
Rigor
Protection
Responsible
Experience
Since inception, Fiera Private Debt has invested over $900 million in infrastructure debt opportunities, spanning more than 35 projects in a diverse mix of infrastructure sectors.
Industries
- Power
- Transport
- Telecom
- Renewables
- Sustainable
- Utilities
Cases Studies
Cascade Power Project
- Location:
- Edson, Alberta
- Type:
- Combined cycle power plant
- Size:
- 900 MW
- Solution:
- Construction to term financing
Provided debt solution to build and operate a 900MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant that benefits from long term agreements.
When complete, Cascade is expected to be largest, most efficient CCGT plant in Alberta, providing 8% of Alberta’s power and generating 62% less CO2 emissions compared to traditional coal-fired generation.
Claresholm Solar Project
- Location:
- Willow Creek, Alberta
- Type:
- Solar photovoltaic
- Size:
- 132 MW
- Solution:
- Construction to term financing
Co-led financing for the construction of a 132MW (AC) solar photovoltaic project, with a portion of electricity to be sold under long-term contract and balance sold into the wholesale market.
Once operational, Claresholm will be Canada’s largest solar facility and an important asset in Alberta’s transition to clean electricity generation.
Genesee Lake Holding Corp
- Location:
- Alberta
- Type:
- Electricity Transmission
- Size:
- 500km of 500kV lines
- Solution:
- Acquisition financing
Provided long term financing for the private purchase of Alberta PowerLine, 500km of electric transmission lines (500kV) and two 500kV substations.
APL owns and operates the Fort McMurray West 500-kV Transmission Project, the longest 500-kV AC transmission line in Canada and benefits from 35-year availability-based tariffs.
Private Infrastructure Debt as an Asset Class
Private Infrastructure Debt as an Asset Class
Combines the benefits of two defensive asset classes: infrastructure and private credit, and has historically offered the following benefits:
- Lower defaults, higher recoveries, and lower ratings volatility compared to corporate debt
- Strong contractual cash flows, secured by essential real assets
- Portfolio Diversification – low correlation with traditional asset classes and economic cycles
- Illiquidity premiums – investment universe not accessible through public markets
Infrastructure Private Debt Team
Andrew J. Shannon MBA, CFA
Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in July 2019, Andrew Shannon had worked at Integrated Asset Management Corp. with the Private Debt Group since 2009. His responsibilities included origination, financial analysis, due diligence, documentation and loan portfolio management.
Mr. Shannon came to Integrated Asset Management from DBRS where he was Senior Energy Analyst. He formerly played professional lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League.
Mr. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Virginia, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Wehle School of Business at Canisius College and he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Katherine McElroy BSBA
Katherine McElroy is a Managing Director in Fiera Private Debt’s Infrastructure Private Debt Group. Prior to joining the company in October 2020, Ms. McElroy was a founding member of the Clean Energy Infrastructure Credit strategy at Capital Dynamics, a leading clean energy investor, where she also served on the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee.
Prior to Capital Dynamics, Katherine McElroy was a Senior Vice President at General Electric Energy Financial Services (GE EFS), where she was an originator on the Debt team and was also responsible for opportunistic trading activity for the Debt portfolio. Prior to GE EFS, Ms. McElroy spent twelve years at The Royal Bank of Scotland/RBS Greenwich Capital where she held a variety of credit-focused roles across capital markets, loan portfolio management, and credit risk management.
Ms. McElroy holds a Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) in Finance and International Business, from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Stephen Zagrodny CFA, BBA
Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt in July 2019, Mr. Zagrodny had worked at Integrated Asset Management Corp. with the Private Debt Group since 2012. His responsibilities included origination, due diligence, documentation, portfolio management as well as workouts and loan restructuring.
Before joining Integrated Asset Management Corp., Mr. Zagrodny gained experience as an Analyst at Economical Insurance.
Stephen Zagrodny holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Prior to joining Fiera Private Debt US LLC in October 2020, William Kim was an Associate on Clean Energy Infrastructure Credit Team at Capital Dynamics. He was responsible for investment analysis and due diligence, in addition to assisting in loan origination and fundraising efforts.
Previously, Mr. Kim was an Analyst on Project and Infrastructure Finance Team at Investec, where he was part of a team originating and executing power and renewable debt transactions in North America. He started his career as a Portfolio Management Analyst at HPS Investment Partners.
William Kim holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.