Creating an allocation to infrastructure might be one of the easiest decisions for limited partner investors to make in this low-rate, low-return environment. But actually building an effective infrastructure portfolio is more complicated.

Despite some progress in recent years, the infrastructure market remains less mature than other sectors, and the investment choices still fall short of many investors’ needs. This means that working with imperfect investment choices and a richly valued market, especially for core assets, demands a flexible, idiosyncratic approach to portfolio building.

“There are myriad challenges investing in infrastructure,” says Eddie Schultz, investment analyst at Texas Municipal Retirement System. “There are no easy ways to access those investments. Real estate and even private equity are well-defined markets with well-defined consultancy markets and are easier to access. At the same time, there are a lot of investors being drawn to the