Institutional investors are recalibrating their risk preferences as they contend with interest rates, inflation, geopolitics and other macroeconomic factors. And as real estate has struggled to meet investors’ real assets needs, infrastructure has stepped forward to fill the gap.
Fundraising for private infrastructure investments fell almost by half in 2023, according to Institutional Real Estate, Inc.’s infrastructure database, with a total capital raise of $90 billion, and recovered only slightly the following year, reaching $121 billion in 2024. Deal activity declined in concert, reported Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Granted, we saw a much stronger 2025, with infrastructure fundraising leaping to set a new record. According to IREI’s infrastructure database, funds holding a final close in 2025 raised $220 billion. But investors remain cautious, particularly against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty: volatile commodity prices; higher borrowing costs; and
