The financial media describes infrastructure investment as an emerging asset class for good reason. Several major pension funds, such as CalPERS and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, have allocated a portion of their portfolios to infrastructure investments. As the interest in infrastructure investment has grown, so has the number of funds investing in the sector. Preqin, a London-based research firm tracking unlisted infrastructure funds, stated in its February 2009 report that 86 unlisted infrastructure funds were seeking an aggregate of US$92.3 billion, roughly double the US$46.7 billion put forth by firms at the same point one year earlier. 

Characteristics of Infrastructure Investment

- Long-term assets;

- High barriers to entry, or even monopolies;

- Regular/steady cash flows;

- Inflation-adjusted revenues;

- Low correlation to other asset classes in a portfolio.

Why Infrastructure Investment is Hot