These are strange times for investors, particularly against the backdrop of the global pandemic. If you are looking to deploy capital, what should you do?

One trend to be aware of is that more private capital is finding its way into infrastructure. “Activity-wise, we’ve seen a number of investors either make their maiden allocations to infrastructure or increase their exposures,” explains Hillary Ripley, senior director at First Sentier Investors. “In particular, we’ve observed that investors are expanding their core infrastructure allocations — likely a function of current conditions and the expectation that interest rates will remain low for an extended period.”

Jed Drake, research consultant, real assets, at independent investment consultant NEPC, agrees. “Real asset exposure in infrastructure is definitely increasing, and a lot of that is from allocations previously reserved for energy, particularly hydrocarbons,” he says. “Energy, such as oil a