infrastructure

In a time when the world is facing unprecedented changes in the energy landscape, geopolitical forces are crucial for understanding the current and future energy markets.

The U.K.’s first female Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced a new plan to boost private sector financing in the British economy. Infrastructure investors are encouraged.

Infrastructure has become one of the topics we pay frequent attention to. It’s remarkable how often it comes up. But of you think about it, the global need for infrastructure investment, the attention paid by the political classes, the importance of the asset for the pension manager have combined to make this once dusty-seeming topic seem of the highest importance. The fact that it has the allure of being inflation-resistant has brought additional attention in these troubled times.

Cube Infrastructure Managers takes pride in its a progressive approach to infrastructure investing. The firm has raised some four billion euro since 2007. Its portfolio has featured Eurotunnel and various green transition investments. Today it actively seeks out companies in order to improve their environmental footprint.

Infrastructure investing has looked like a very good business in recent years. Initially, interest in infrastructure was due to its role as a long-term, inflation-resistant vehicle for institutional investors. But the crying need for building, repairing and upgrading the built world while most governments are short on funds has given it an almost socially-conscious image. 

Most such funds have realised they can easily more towards doing ESG-related investments. Often, it’s just about looking for the right investment option.

Private market investments have become overweight in institutional portfolios following this year’s substantial declines in public markets. Half of investors are waiting “as long as necessary” for this dislocation to subside. The other half is concerned, a new survey by Bfinance shows. The report is of particular interest to Luxembourg, where interest in private assets and alternative investments has increased significantly in recent years.

Infrastructure is not immune to the current economic malaise, but it is important to isolate macroeconomic variables for each investment. “Analysing sectors or asset classes is not enough: you have to analyse each asset to determine its macro impact.”

So says Heiko Schupp (photo), infrastructure fund manager at Columbia Threadneedle, in an interview with InvestmentOfficer.be.

An American early-stage fintech named Pontoro recently pitched in Luxembourg its development of an innovative new digital assets platform that makes infrstructure investments more liquid, and thus less difficult to finance.

Infrastructure is becoming a must in all portfolios. It is a decorative asset. Private companies are helping along with governments to achieve this. Whitehelm Capital’s fund continues to perform strongly and should benefit from major investment programmes in the major developed countries.