There has always been a fine line between real estate and infrastructure, but these days, it’s looking increasingly blurred. Ask most commentators about this shifting boundary and the message is broadly the same: There has never been a more important time for investors to scrutinise the two asset classes and weigh their respective benefits at a portfolio level.

As investors have moved toward “real assets” portfolios rather than segregated sector-specific buckets, they have become increasingly sophisticated and granular in their approaches to unlisted real estate and infrastructure, and more cognisant of drifts in managers’ risk exposures and characteristics.

Real estate and infrastructure share many common drivers, including a direct or indirect link to GDP growth; growing urbanisation; and major shifts in underlying demand, such as the boost in logistics demand caused by the growing importance of online retail. However, says Hadley Dean, CEO of EPP, “what is