The $122.8 billion Virginia Retirement System (VRS) has allocated $250 million to a credit strategy managed by Barings. In August, the pension fund invested in Barings Infrastructure Debt SMA, a separately managed account that will invest in public and private infrastructure debt.
The infrastructure debt market has undergone a dramatic transformation during the past decade, according to a recent white paper authored by Barings’ Orhan Sarayli. In 2014, the total volume of private infrastructure financing was approximately $340 billion, according to the report. By the end of 2024, that figure had more than doubled to more than $770 billion.
“Historically, infrastructure was financed by governments, utilities and banks. However, fiscal constraints and evolving energy needs have created a significant funding gap,” writes Sarayli. “Governments are facing budgetary pressures, and utilities are grappling with the need to modernize their grids to support decentralized
