The Infrastructure Investor Podcast (PEI Group)

This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners

The state of renewable energy is a series of contradictions. On the one hand, solar panels are cheaper, but they may not stay that way with the threat of tariffs from the incoming Trump Administration. Distributed energy and behind-the-meter power generation are promising, but there are persistent structural obstacles, especially around microgrids. Meanwhile, AI projects require more and more energy while so many grids are already struggling to meet current needs.  

So what does this mean for energy investors today? Will the Trump Administration curb progress on renewables in favour of fossil fuels, or will energy demands boost every alternative available? Where are the opportunities worth pursuing and what technologies are living up to their promise?

In this episode, we’ll discuss these questions and more with Don Dimitrievich, the senior managing director and portfolio manager for energy infrastructure credit at Nuveen, and David Scaysbrook, a co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.

This episode is sponsored by Ridgewood Infrastructure and I Squared Capital  

The need for new infrastructure in markets like the United States is immense, and private capital has a big role to play in making it happen. The mid-market may be especially well-positioned to offer that institutional capital a share in the growth potential of the mega-trends shaping the future of global infrastructure. So in this episode, attention turns to this segment of the market.

Gautam Bhandari, co-founder and managing partner of I Squared Capital, and Ross Posner, managing partner of Ridgewood Infrastructure, share their insights on how the mid-market has evolved to date, how well it’s stood up in difficult macroeconomic conditions, where to look for those growth opportunities, and why the sector is primed to benefit from a predicted infra supercycle.

Introducing The Infrastructure Investor Podcast, which delves into the latest trends in private infrastructure investment, bringing you insightful interviews with many of the industry’s most influential leaders, as well as original analysis from our award-winning team of journalists. To learn more and see all your subscription options, go to www.infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with Sadek Wahba, founder, chairman and managing partner of independent manager I Squared Capital.

Top of the agenda is Wahba’s new book – Build: Investing in America’s Infrastructure – which chronicles the US’s underinvestment in infrastructure, contextualises the historical reasons for the dominance of public sector infrastructure financing, proposes a range of scenarios to increase private sector participation, and much more.

In the discussion, Wahba shares his thoughts on what change could look like for the US infrastructure financing landscape, the political obstacles that stand in the way, the importance of the public sector being able to share on the upside, and, of course, how the outcome of the upcoming US election – including a potential second Trump presidency – could affect the asset class.

To hear more of our episodes, head to infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast or you can search and subscribe to The Infrastructure Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen.

This episode is sponsored by Edmond de Rothschild and Palistar Capital

Digital infrastructure is developing rapidly, turbocharged first by the coronavirus pandemic and now by advances in artificial intelligence, which have turned data centres into arguably the hottest investment in infrastructure at the moment. The sector also includes fibre and towers, both of which are also attracting strong investor interest.

This episode of The Infrastructure Investor Podcast focuses on the growth of – and opportunities within – digital infrastructure’s three key subsectors. Jean-Francis Dusch, global head of infrastructure and structured finance at EdR, and Josh Oboler, investment partner at Palistar Capital, explore how AI is transforming the data centre landscape, where to find the best opportunities in fibre, and why towers continue to make such a good investment.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Blackstone global head of infrastructure Sean Klimczak.

Infrastructure was Blackstone’s best-performing asset class in 2024, generating a gross return of 21 percent, according to the firm’s Q4 results. Blackstone is also one of the few industry titans fully committed to investing in the asset class through an open-ended strategy.

Unsurprisingly, a big part of our conversation focuses on what’s underpinning that strong performance – including the three pillars that make a “classic Blackstone infrastructure deal”, as Klimczak put it – as well as Blackstone’s blockbuster acquisition of pan-Asian data centre business AirTrunk, why Klimczak continues to be bullish on the AI infrastructure opportunity, the enduring appeal of transportation, and the advantages of building a portfolio within an open-ended framework.

Editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Petya Nikolova, deputy CIO and head of infrastructure at the Office of the New York City Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management. The Bureau oversees the investments of the five New York City retirement systems, which have a collective $280 billion of assets under management, with $8.4 billion invested in infrastructure as of December 2024.

Nikolova has led the infrastructure programme since inception and has now had the opportunity to see it perform in an inflationary environment. That performance has confirmed the asset class’s peerless inflation passthrough capabilities. In a wide-ranging discussion, Nikolova tackles infrastructure’s role as a diversifier in the systems’ portfolios, how to thoughtfully manage exposure to the mega-trends of digital infrastructure and the energy transition, and whether infrastructure as an asset class is climbing up the risk curve.

To hear more of our episodes, head to infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast or you can search and subscribe to The Infrastructure Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen.

This episode is sponsored by Eurazeo and Actis

Renewable energy is being deployed rapidly around the world, and various green industries are cropping up to take advantage of cleaner and cheaper power. The rollout of renewables is shaping new economic realities, as industries increasingly look to tap into greener sources of power. Many parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa are poised to benefit. Europe, meanwhile, faces a challenge in sustaining its remaining industrial strength as it battles with high power prices.

In this episode, Laurent Chatelin, a partner in the infrastructure investment team at Eurazeo, and James Mittell, director for energy infrastructure at Actis, talk with Ben Payton about the global challenge of providing energy security and affordability. While they both see opportunities and challenges ahead, one thing is clear: for the energy transition, there is no turning back.

Please note that the views and opinions stated on this podcast represent those of the individuals making such remarks and are not necessarily representative of the views and opinions held by their firms.

In this episode, senior editor Bruno Alves, deputy editor Kalliope Gourntis and Americas editor Zak Bentley look back on how our Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking of the largest infrastructure managers has changed over the past decade, following publication of the latest edition earlier this month.

Comparing the 2024 edition to the 2014 one reveals a plethora of changes, including the ranking’s sevenfold growth, the rise of specialist strategies, the remarkable growth of some of the managers on it, the disappearance of about a third of the managers that used to feature on the ranking, and much more.

Click here to see the full 2024 Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking

In this episode, senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with Verena Lim, CEO of Macquarie Group Asia, co-head of Asia-Pacific for Macquarie Asset Management Infrastructure, and head of investments for the Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund series.

What follows is a wide-ranging discussion on Asia-Pacific infrastructure investing, taking in accelerating LP interest in the region, how Asia compares to the US and Europe as an investment destination, the need for discipline when investing in diverse markets, perceived versus actual risks, and, of course, Macquarie’s highly profitable exit from pan-Asian data centre business AirTrunk.

In this episode, senior editor Bruno Alves, deputy editor Kalliope Gourntis and Americas editor Zak Bentley discuss the latest developments affecting the UK water sector, following the publication of our September cover story.

That includes news of outreach to some of the industry’s biggest fund managers to inject equity into troubled utility Thames Water; worrying evidence of contagion from the Thames Water debacle for recent debt raises by some strong sector performers; a discussion on how to bring down the sector’s daunting debt pile; and much more.

To hear more of our episodes, head to infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast or you can search and subscribe to The Infrastructure Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen.

Infrastructure Investor editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley to discuss their main takeaways from the Infrastructure Investor Network’s Global Summit, recently held in Berlin, that featured more than 3,000 members, including 800-plus LPs.

The discussion covers artificial intelligence, investors’ craving for certainty in the midst of geopolitical upheaval, the double-edged sword of regulation, LP appetite for mid-market products, direct investing and much more.

Infrastructure Investor Network members feeling the need to connect further should keep our upcoming Investor Forum in mind. Taking place in London 9-10 September, it will gather 300-plus industry leaders, including more than 150 LPs. Find out more here.

As infrastructure changes and evolves as an asset class, we often discuss whether it’s become riskier. But what does "risker" actually mean?

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves, Americas editor Zak Bentley and Anne-Louise Stranne Petersen, senior reporter – energy transition, debate what asset class characteristics are falling by the wayside, which new risks investors need to be aware of these days – particularly in the burgeoning energy transition arena – and whether a riskier asset class is still something most people would call infrastructure.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with Hadley Peer Marshall, Brookfield Asset Management’s chief financial officer and co-head of infrastructure debt and structured solutions.

Given Brookfield manages some of the asset class’s biggest strategies across core equity, pure-play infrastructure debt and energy transition, scale is a big part of the discussion, which also covers Brookfield’s corporate tie-ups with the likes of Microsoft and Intel, its preconditions for launching new strategies, as well as the opportunity in the ever-expanding infrastructure debt market.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with KKR global head of infrastructure Raj Agrawal.

KKR’s infrastructure unit has been on a remarkable growth trajectory, from being the 17th largest infrastructure manager in the world in 2014 to becoming the third largest in our recently released Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking. During that time, it added to its global core-plus strategy by launching strategies dedicated to core infrastructure, the Asia-Pacific region and, more recently, its infrastructure-adjacent global climate strategy.

Strategy building is thus at the heart of the discussion with Agrawal, as he details the four preconditions that have to be fulfilled before KKR launches a new strategy. He also discusses how the firm navigated high-profile departures, how it ensures team retention, why it eschews sector considerations and takes a risk-based approach to investing in the asset class, and he touches on the opportunity in industrial infrastructure.

This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and Igneo Infrastructure Partners

With the American electorate recently handing the White House back to Donald Trump, it seems like an opportune time for Infrastructure Investor to unpack what it could all mean for the infrastructure asset class – in particular, the US commitment to renewables and the energy transition. Trump is, after all, the man who previously removed the world’s largest economy from the Paris Climate Accord and has since sounded less than supportive of President Biden’s initiatives to stimulate the economy and create jobs through a series of infra-led federal legislation.

So, is the Inflation Reduction Act in danger of being repealed? Does global capital have cause to be jittery? Or is the case for renewables infrastructure now simply too strong for even a sceptical Trump-led administration to deny.

Helping us to address these questions and concerns are John Ma, a partner and co-head of Igneo Infrastructure Partners’ North America team, and Don Dimitrievich, the senior managing director and portfolio manager for energy infrastructure credit at Nuveen.

In this first episode of The Infrastructure Investor Podcast, senior editor Bruno Alves catches up with Marc Ganzi, chief executive of DigitalBridge, the renowned digital infrastructure outfit and the only specialist manager in the top 10 of our II 100 ranking of the largest infrastructure managers in the world.

With AI infrastructure generating record attention, Ganzi cuts through the hype to discuss what investors can expect from this multi-trillion-dollar tectonic shift, the opportunity in private cloud and the formidable resource bottlenecks data centre investments face.

To hear more of our episodes, head to infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast or you can search and subscribe to The Infrastructure Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves, deputy editor Kalliope Gourntis and Americas editor Zak Bentley take a deep dive into the infrastructure fundraising market.

After two years of contracting totals, fundraising for unlisted, closed-end vehicles hit a low point in 2024. With circa $92 billion raised, last year’s tally was the lowest since 2015 – and the first time in nearly a decade that fundraising totals have dipped below $100 billion.

We discuss when the market can expect a recovery in fundraising, the ever-larger amounts of time spent on the road by managers to raise funds, and what a sustainable return to health could look like. Read more: Full year fundraising fully disappoints