Early numbers for infrastructure investment funds closing in first quarter 2017 indicate that funds are continuing to grow, but they are taking longer to reach a final close.
During the past two years, the total amount of capital raised each year was relatively stable. 2015 saw $56.1 billion raised, while 2016 came in at $56.4 billion. 2017 might end up blowing these numbers out of the water, as more than $30.9 billion has closed in the first quarter alone. However, more than half this total was the result of one ultra-mega-fund — the $15.8 billion Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) Fund III, which closed with $15.8 billion in commitments. Without this fund, the quarter would have seen a total of $15.1 billion raised by closed funds, which is more in line with previous years. The first quarters of 2015 and 2016 saw $17.6 billion and $16.2 billion raised by funds reaching final closing, respectively. The question now begging for an answer is: Has 2017 fundraising been fron