The following article is the second of several excerpts that will appear in I3 from Institutional Investment in Infrastructure in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies,a report commissioned by the World Bank and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory reviewing the role of institutional investors in financing infrastructure in emerging markets and developing economies. The discussion analyzes the present level of involvement as well as the future investment potential of new financing sources such as public and private pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds

Infrastructure has been a hot new investment class over the last few years, and it is only growing in popularity, evidenced by the fact that nearly half (49 percent) of infrastructure investors expect to increase their allocations to the sector in the next 18 months, according to The Ascent of Real Assets, the latest survey and report from BlackRock.

The following report is a review of first quarter 2015 research notes by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s.