For investors, being able to benchmark their performance is crucial. They do not need to outperform the benchmark — though they always hope to — but they certainly do not want to do worse than the market. In addition, benchmarks help investors pinpoint the areas of a diversified asset class that fit the risk-return parameters for their portfolios.

A few weeks ago, I was in Toronto for our eighth annual I3 Editorial Advisory Board meeting, where the board discussed the challenges and opportunities in global infrastructure investing for institutional investors.

According to the World Economic Forum, the world’s population will hit 9 billion by the year 2030. To support this population level, an estimated $5 trillion per year needs to be invested in global infrastructure. This is about $100 trillion over the next two decades.