Key Takeaways
- • Institutional infrastructure investors now have credible fund-level and asset-level benchmarks, but no single accepted reference point exists for the unlisted infrastructure market.
- • Carolyn Hansard, managing director of energy, natural resources and infrastructure at the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas, says the remaining challenge is comparability, since different benchmarks measure different universes using different methodologies.
- • Twenty years ago, institutions had no third-party benchmarks for unlisted infrastructure; several are now available, though none is widely regarded as a golden standard.
Summary
The infrastructure industry has made significant progress in developing industry benchmarks over the past decades, according to the source article. Market participants today can access credible fund-level and asset-level benchmarks, better data coverage, and more granular segmentation by sector, geography, vintage and risk profile. Despite these gains, frustration over shortfalls persists among allocators.
Carolyn Hansard, managing director of energy, natural resources and infrastructure at the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas, argues that while transparency can be materially improved, the principal remaining obstacle is comparability. She notes that different benchmarks measure different investment universes and rely on different methodologies, so the market lacks a single reference point that represents the full infrastructure asset class.
The source article notes that two decades ago institutional investors had no access to third-party benchmarks for unlisted infrastructure, whereas several such benchmarks are now available. The article's text is cut off before further commentary, but the quoted view is that none of the existing benchmarks is yet regarded as a golden standard.
Carolyn Hansard, managing director of energy, natural resources and infrastructure at the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas, argues that while transparency can be materially improved, the principal remaining obstacle is comparability. She notes that different benchmarks measure different investment universes and rely on different methodologies, so the market lacks a single reference point that represents the full infrastructure asset class.
The source article notes that two decades ago institutional investors had no access to third-party benchmarks for unlisted infrastructure, whereas several such benchmarks are now available. The article's text is cut off before further commentary, but the quoted view is that none of the existing benchmarks is yet regarded as a golden standard.
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