The editorial team at Institutional Real Estate, Inc. just wrapped up the editorial calendars for the first half of 2016. Each year, the process of setting the topics for feature articles begins by reviewing the discussions at our annual Editorial Advisory Board meetings — such as the meeting for Institutional Investing in Infrastructure this year in Toronto in June — where our publication sponsors and board members get to learn what issues and objectives drive the thinking and decision making of the investors at our meetings. These investors are public and corporate pensions, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and superannuation funds, as well as the consultants who help them plan and execute infrastructure investment policy.
Below are the feature stories we plan to publish in i3 in the first half of 2016, which are suggestive of the discussions that took place at this year’s board meeting.
It’s never haggle free
Investment managers and investors negotiate on a range of items, from fees to co-investment to exit strategies. What is the state of investor-manager commitment terms?
Infrastructure ensured
The European Union has adopted new capital rules that make it easier for insurance companies to invest in infrastructure. What does this mean for the infrastructure market?
Bank shot
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is up and running. What are its objectives? How can private investors participate? What does it mean for the region?
The consultant’s view
What are the most important trends and issues in infrastructure investing that investors should be tracking? We interview four consultants from four continents to get a global picture of the hot trends and issues in infrastructure investing.
Heavy lifting
Governments across the globe are working to make investment in public infrastructure more appealing to private investors. What are the programs that are doing this? What are they trying to accomplish and what are the results?
From the ground up
Investors can blend a variety of vehicles to build an infrastructure portfolio to meet their particular needs and objectives. What can new investors who are beginning to build their portfolios learn from experienced infrastructure investors?
Regulated expectation
European regulators have issued a few surprises to investors in European infrastructure, including most recently for French toll road rates. Is this the new normal? Should investors lower expectations for rate increases on regulated infrastructure investments such as airports, water and natural gas assets?
Active to passive and everything in between
Active management private equity funds have been a part of the infrastructure investing landscape for decades, but some investors want more passive buy-and-hold strategies. Then there are hybrid funds that offer a little of both. What are the benefits of these strategies for investors with different objectives?
Sustained interest
Environment, social and governance issues are taking an increasing role in investor decision-making and asset management. What is driving this trend, and how are investors integrating ESG issues into their investment decision-making process?
Risk turned on its head
Generally speaking, emerging markets are perceived to contain the most risk — investment, political, regulatory, currency — but many believe investors should not paint the market with too broad a brush, and should instead question their perceptions. Do emerging markets always carry more risk than developed markets?
Socially risk-averse
Some investors shy away from social infrastructure investments because they often overlap with union and worker interests and the headline risk can be too much to bear. But other investors have found ways to get comfortable with that risk.
We trust these timely and pertinent topics will help readers get a deeper understanding of the people and trends driving the global infrastructure investment market. Please feel free to submit article ideas either for submission or as topics our staff can pursue to d.campbell@irei.com.
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Drew Campbell is senior editor of Institutional Investing in Infrastructure.
