The Infrastructure Investor Podcast

The three pillars of a ‘classic Blackstone infra deal’

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.

Is infra climbing up the risk curve?

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.

NYC BAM: ‘Infra has the best inflation passthrough in private markets’

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.

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On the cusp of an infra ‘supercycle’

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.

Addressing the global energy ‘trilemma’

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.

What’s next for infrastructure fundraising?

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

The energy transition’s next era

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.

Brookfield: ‘We can play in scale, even on day one’

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.