Infrastructure as an asset class is really just a teenager, quips Danny Latham, partner, Unlisted Infrastructure, with Colonial First State Global Asset Management. Although some investor-parents may shudder at that thought, it just might be a fair analogy. Infrastructure and public-private partnerships are not entirely new, but at the same time infrastructure is hardly the mature, widely accepted allocation that some feel it should be — or soon may become.

This growing up may be happening right now, given the confluence of needs among municipalities, investors and society that is bringing things to a head. This alignment of interests is coming into clear focus, and, coupled with creative new capital markets vehicles and maturing investor sentiment, a new wave of capital may be on the brink of entering the infrastructure arena.

According to the I3 Investor Survey, investors are increasing their target allocations to infrastructure in 2014, but they have also