Santander, Canada pension funds launch renewables fund

LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Banco Santander (Amsterdam: SANT.AS - news) and two of Canada's largest pension funds said on Thursday they were launching a joint fund to invest in renewable energy projects, following the transfer of 19 assets previously owned by the Spanish lender.

Cubico Sustainable Investment will have a portfolio of more than $2 billion in assets and will be headquartered in London, Santander, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Public Sector Pension Investment Board said in a statement. It will be owned equally by the three firms and has "significant capital to invest", the statement continued, without offering detail.

The fund's portfolio contains wind, solar and water infrastructure assets in Britain, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay, the three firms added.

Marcos Sebares, who led Santander's former asset and capital restructuring team, will be chief executive of Cubico.

"We have already built a strong pipeline of attractive assets to add to the platform," he said in the statement.

Infrastructure assets are appealing to investors in an environment of low yields.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, editing by Sinead Cruise)