Coming off the slump in global private infrastructure fundraising that plagued the majority of 2023, industry participants are gaining some clarity. Although 2023 has been called the worst fundraising environment for infrastructure since 2009–2010, it may not have been as detrimental to the asset class as some headlines have portrayed. Yet, the fundraising cooldown was significant enough to generate concern, and there are a number of lessons this scenario has taught us about the resilience of the infrastructure asset class.

To understand just how dramatic last year’s drop in fundraising activity was, it’s important to look at the numbers. According to Institutional Real Estate, Inc.’s infrastructure fundraising trends data, 30 infrastructure funds closed in 2023, compared with 48 in 2022 and 55 in 2021. Only $22.5 billion was raised by infrastructure funds in the first three quarters of 2023. However, fundraising totals picked up dramatically in the fourth quarter, an