Recent performance has seen global listed infrastructure assets hold up relatively well as global equities sold off, consistent with a history of providing most of the upside in rising equity markets but offering protection from falling ones, according to portfolio manager Trent Koch, part of the global listed infrastructure team at First Sentier Investors.
“Investments in assets such as toll roads, airports, railroads, utilities and renewables, energy midstream, wireless towers and data centers show their worth in such times,” said Koch. “These types of investments have high barriers to entry, structural growth and strong pricing power, giving them the potential to withstand inflation and generate consistent earnings, regardless of the broader economic backdrop.”
The ability to hold up in falling markets has enabled the asset class to generate higher returns than global equities over the past 20 years, with less risk, as measured by standard deviation of retur