Each year, Institutional Real Estate, Inc. publishes a special report for the IREI: Infrastructure Strategies conference (formerly the i3 conference), and right now we are in the midst of writing and producing this year’s edition. The reports focus on the opportunities for infrastructure investment and the trends that drive these opportunities.

A lot has changed since 2006, when IREI hosted its first infrastructure conference. Before the global financial crisis, investors were sending most commitments to diversified closed-end infrastructure private equity funds with mandates to invest in a broad array of sectors and global markets. The lion’s share of capital was being raised for such funds; the promise of diversified exposure to what then was a new asset class for many investors was appealing — and there wasn’t much more offered in the market.

This style of fund remains a popular choice for many investors, but during the past decade the market for vehicles ta