Major banks bet on infrastructure as a building block in private markets

Within private markets, interest in infrastructure is growing. Both ING and Rabobank are positioning this investment category as a “building block” in their private markets offerings. Goldman expects a larger asset allocation from institutional investors in the coming years.

Chart of the week: what’s expensive?

Now that Trump has been taking things a bit easier over the past few weeks, stock valuations have become the topic dominating the markets. Market commentators are tripping over each other to declare how wildly overvalued the big tech names supposedly are. It’s a lot of parroting, really, while the actual numbers tell a more nuanced story.

Morningstar: Blackrock and Neuberger Berman in USD high yield bonds

The US high yield bond market returned 7.4 percent for 2025 through October (per Morningstar’s US High Yield Bond Total Return USD Index), outpacing the leveraged loans market’s 4.9 percent return (Morningstar LSTA US Leverages Loans Total returns USD Index). This year’s underperformance stands out, due to several high-profile blowups such as Tricolor and First Brands.

Big tech companies take the next step in debt financing

Earlier this month, Meta announced that it would finance the construction of a new data center through debt issued via an SPV, while Oracle is setting up two debt facilities for two data centers. Investors do not see this move toward more “exotic financing” as a sign of weakness. “In a sense, we’re now seeing big tech applying the same financial discipline that has traditionally been associated with infrastructure and utility companies.”