For Australian financial advisers and wholesale clients (as defined in section 761G of the Corporations Act) only. The Macquarie Private Infrastructure Fund and Macquarie Energy Transition Infrastructure Fund is only open to investment by Australian wholesale clients.
October 27, 2025
In uncertain times, investors are seeking stability. Infrastructure stands out as an asset class that has the potential to deliver income, inflation protection and long-term capital resilience.
To explore the role infrastructure can play in resilient portfolios, we sat down with Chris Leslie, Senior Managing Director, Green Investments and Ani Satchcroft, Co-Head of Infrastructure for APAC. They shared their perspectives on how different types of infrastructure can perform across cycles, why careful asset selection matters and how Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) is actively managing opportunities across digital connectivity and renewable energy.
Periods of market volatility, inflationary pressures, and questions about global growth have prompted many investors to review the durability of their portfolios. Diversification remains a cornerstone of portfolio construction, but the characteristics of the assets included can be equally important.
Infrastructure has increasingly attracted attention because of its links to the provision of essential services on which economies depend – from energy to transportation to digital connectivity. These are areas where demand tends to persist through cycles, creating the potential for consistent, long-term cashflows.
“If you invest in infrastructure, you can improve the resilience of your portfolio without giving away the upside,” explains Chris Leslie.
Holding steady: the role of infrastructure
Infrastructure plays a unique role in portfolios, distinct from fixed income, private equity and real estate investments. As Leslie noted, its value lies in its potential to deliver resilience, with potential characteristics being, consistent demand, predictable cashflows, and the ability to weather cycles without sacrificing the upside. Over time, this has been borne out in performance: Private infrastructure has outperformed global listed equities – with less volatility. According to recent analysis over a 20-year horizon by Cambridge Associates, private infrastructure assets have delivered consistently strong risk-adjusted returns relative to both traditional equities and fixed income.1
The potential resilience of the asset class also highlights the importance of a disciplined approach to asset selection. Not every opportunity that looks like infrastructure on the surface delivers the defensive, stable characteristics investors are seeking. Some strategies may behave more like private equity, with higher risk and return expectations.
In Leslie’s view, “if a manager is suggesting infrastructure returns of around 20 per cent, that should prompt investors to carefully assess whether the opportunity truly aligns with infrastructure fundamentals”.
Unlocking value through active management
The role of infrastructure managers is not limited to acquisition. While infrastructure is often viewed as a stable, long-term asset, the performance of these assets is shaped by active, hands-on management. Ensuring that assets remain reliable, efficient, and relevant to community needs requires ongoing investment and operational improvement.
Ani Satchcroft explained, “We match private capital to unmet community needs, and in doing so we provide the facilities and infrastructure people rely on every day.”
This approach is visible across several Macquarie Asset Management-backed examples:
1. Digital infrastructure: MAM recognised early the shift in data centres from peripheral backup storage to critical digital infrastructure. In April 2020, a consortium led by MAM (on behalf of its managed fund and clients) and including PSP Investments acquired an 88 per cent interest in AirTrunk, valuing the company at $A3 billion.2 In September 2024, MAM via its managed fund and PSP Investments agreed to sell their interests in AirTrunk to Blackstone in a deal that implied an enterprise value of over $A24 billion.3 The outcome reflects MAM’s ability to identify, invest in, and nurture digital infrastructure assets that are resilient, scalable and pivotal in meeting the burgeoning demand for data, cloud services and the adoption of AI. It also highlights MAM’s expertise in finding attractive investments by looking to where communities are heading and executing successful divestment strategies.
2. Connectivity: In 2021, MAM acquired Vocus, a fibre and network solutions provider in Australia and New Zealand. Shortly after, Vocus was planning to IPO its New Zealand subsidiary, but MAM instead pursued a merger with 2Degrees, a full-service telco. The decision created a vertically integrated provider in New Zealand, improving competition and services for consumers. In Australia, MAM made the strategic decision to acquire TPG’s enterprise, government, and wholesale network assets, effectively doubling Vocus’ footprint. This enabled Vocus to expand its reach and strengthen connectivity infrastructure across the country.
“This was an investment where we believed we could add real value, and we successfully created an end-to-end full-service provider in the New Zealand market,” explained Satchcroft. “Vocus has grown under our ownership, not just with capital but also with operational improvement.”
Renewables with staying power
The rapid digitalisation of economies is driving unprecedented demand for power, as more industries, services and households rely on data, connectivity and electrification. At the same time, the transition to low-carbon energy is accelerating, with hyperscalers such as Google and Amazon requiring not only more power, but specifically more green power to meet sustainability targets.
Solar and wind projects, which can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively compared to traditional generation, are central to meeting this increasing demand. The growth pipeline for renewables remains robust, and infrastructure investors are playing a critical role in bringing forward new capacity.
DESRI is one of the largest renewable power producers in the United States. DESRI develops, owns, and operates utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage projects across the country, supplying clean electricity to around two million homes. Many of these projects operate under long-term power purchase agreements, providing predictable revenue streams.
As Leslie observed; “DESRI is a high growth platform benefiting from this excess electricity demand in the US. But their real expertise – and where we can see additional value – is in bringing new projects through development,” said Leslie.
These characteristics make DESRI a good example of an infrastructure investment with the potential to demonstrate resilience across different market conditions.
Portfolios built for resilience
MAM is the world’s largest infrastructure manager4, with more than $A300 billion invested in infrastructure assets globally and over 300 million people depending on its essential services every single day. Our teams manage assets across transportation, utilities, digital infrastructure, contracted and social assets and renewable energy – all with the aim of supporting the systems that underpin economic activity.
Wholesale investors in Australia can access Macquarie Asset Management’s global infrastructure platform through the Macquarie Private Infrastructure Fund (MPIF) and Macquarie Energy Transition Infrastructure Fund (METI). These funds are designed to provide diversified exposure to carefully defined infrastructure assets with stable, defensive characteristics.
Resilient portfolios are built on the reliability and durability of underlying assets. Infrastructure’s ability to deliver essential services positions it as an asset class that can help investors navigate uncertain conditions while contributing to the growth and development of the communities it serves.
Learn more about our private infrastructure funds:
- Cambridge Associates, Bloomberg. Private Infrastructure: Cambridge Associates Infrastructure Index; Global Equities; MSCI World Index for global equities; Global bonds: Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index. Analysis conducted from 1 January 2004 to 31 March 2025.
- ‘Macquarie-managed infrastructure fund-led consortium reaches financial close on leading hyperscale data centre platform, AirTrunk’, AirTrunk, 8 April 2020, https://airtrunk.com/.
- 'AirTrunk announces first data centre Sustainability Linked Loan in Asia-Pacific region', AirTrunk, 13 September 2021, https://airtrunk.com/.
- The ranking presented herein is awarded in July 2025 and is the opinion of IPE Real Assets and not of Macquarie. No such person creating the ranking is affiliated with Macquarie or is an investor in Macquarie-sponsored vehicles. IPE Real Assets surveyed and ranked global infrastructure investment managers. The ranking is based on infrastructure AUM as of 31 March 2025. AUM is defined by IPE Real Assets as the total gross asset value of all assets managed and committed capital (including uncalled). There can be no assurance that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusions as the foregoing.
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This information has been prepared by Macquarie Specialist Investment Management Limited (ABN 84 086 438 995 AFSL 229916) the issuer of units in the Fund(s) referred to above. The Fund(s) referred to above is only open to investment by Australian wholesale clients (as defined in section 761G of the Corporations Act). The Fund(s) is not offered in the United States or to any U.S. Persons. The information on this page is general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any person. It should not be relied upon in determining whether to invest in the Fund. In deciding whether to acquire or continue to hold an investment in the Fund(s), an investor should consider the Fund's information memorandum. The information memorandum is available by contacting us on 1800 814 523. This information is intended for recipients in Australia only.
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