Among infrastructure assets, energy infrastructure assets such as pipelines, storage facilities or processing plants, are experiencing a rapid growth, especially in the USA. Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) have played a key role in facilitating investment in US energy infrastructure.

Even if infrastructure investments shares some of the characteristics with fixed income (long term predictable yield), real estate (investing in physical assets) and private equity (leverage is used), its popularity is increasing among investors.

In terms of performance, the fund objective is to provide an IRR (internal rate of return) between 8% and 10% with a 8 years investment horizon, taking into account a recurring cash revenue given an 5% annual coupon target.

Preqin's latest research shows that infrastructure funds that have reached a final close so far this year have raised $1bn in capital on average, representing the highest average fund size seen since 2007, when funds raised an average of $1.1bn.

Governments must act today to ensure that the infrastructure needed in 2020-2030 will be planned, developed and operational in time, according to a new OECD report.