Although a number of pension funds have made allocations to infrastructure through dedicated programs or through real estate mandates, many others have not. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has been a leader, making infrastructure commitments through a new inflation-linked assets program. The question remains, however, whether more plans will follow and if so, how long might it be before plan sponsor capital targeting the asset class reaches critical mass.

When one thinks of infrastructure investing, Chicago is not often the next thought. However, recent actions by the city have brought the infrastructure investing spotlight to the Midwest, and not just due to the magnitude of these cumulative public to private transactions.

All 15 of the newly launched Dow Jones Brookfield Infrastructure Indices declined in fourth quarter 2008, with the Ports Infrastructure index (–41.50 percent) experiencing the largest drop, followed by Diversified Infrastructure (–39.30 percent) and Asia-Pacific Infrastructure (–24.91 percent).