Key Takeaways
- • The First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure Fund (Class I EUR, ISIN IE00BYSJTY39) held €725.8 million in assets under management as at 31 July 2026, according to RankiaPro's review.
- • The fund runs a concentrated book of 39 global infrastructure equities against the FTSE Global Core Infrastructure 50/50 Net Index, with the same three-person team (Peter Meany, Andrew Greenup and Edmund Leung) in place since its 2008 inception.
- • Over ten years the fund returned 75.5% versus 96.8% for the index, and 103.4% since the share class launched in 2016 versus 123.3% for the benchmark, a persistent long-run gap.
- • The fund trailed its benchmark in four of the five 12-month periods to 31 July, with its only relative outperformance in the year to July 2023 (-9.0% versus -10.4%).
- • The review positions the fund as a satellite real-asset sleeve for private banks, family offices and EAFIs rather than a core equity replacement, with the EUR share class unhedged against US dollar exposure.
Summary
RankiaPro's review examines the First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure Fund, a Article 8 SFDR-classified vehicle that holds 39 listed infrastructure equities across transport, utilities, energy and communications. The fund is managed against the FTSE Global Core Infrastructure 50/50 Net Index. Peter Meany, Andrew Greenup and Edmund Leung have run the strategy since its 2008 inception, and it held €725.8 million in AUM as at 31 July 2026.
The review frames the strategy's relevance around structural demand for grid capacity. It cites International Energy Agency data showing global electricity demand from data centres rose 17% in 2025, a pace well above overall demand growth. Airports and mobile towers are also cited as beneficiaries of travel recovery and data traffic growth. The fund's approach is bottom-up and valuation-driven, buying after periods of regulatory uncertainty or weak earnings and selling after re-ratings or takeover approaches. Recent purchases included Sempra, Groupe ADP and AENA, while sales included Norfolk Southern, Exelon and Dominion Energy.
Performance has lagged the benchmark over most recent periods. Over the five 12-month periods to 31 July, the fund underperformed in four, outperforming only in the year to July 2023. The review notes that the factsheet does not disclose Sharpe ratio, annualised volatility or maximum drawdown for this share class, so risk-adjusted conclusions are limited.
Positioning is concentrated, with a clear overweight to airport operators and electricity utilities and an underweight to gas and oil midstream. The United States is the largest single-country exposure, modestly above benchmark. The review's risk table highlights single-sector concentration, unhedged currency exposure, regulatory and political risk, concentration and liquidity risk, and style and cycle risk. On ESG, the review says utilities account for roughly 90% of portfolio emissions and that carbon intensity in that sub-sector fell 14% over five years. Screening uses UN Global Compact and OECD Guidelines via Sustainalytics data.
The review concludes that the fund suits investors seeking a dedicated real-asset allocation and accepts tracking difference in exchange for active selection. It notes the thesis would need revisiting if the management team changed or the performance gap widened beyond normal sector re-rating cycles. The analysis is based on the fund factsheet, the 2025 Annual Report and the Interim Report to 30 June 2026, and is not investment advice.
The review frames the strategy's relevance around structural demand for grid capacity. It cites International Energy Agency data showing global electricity demand from data centres rose 17% in 2025, a pace well above overall demand growth. Airports and mobile towers are also cited as beneficiaries of travel recovery and data traffic growth. The fund's approach is bottom-up and valuation-driven, buying after periods of regulatory uncertainty or weak earnings and selling after re-ratings or takeover approaches. Recent purchases included Sempra, Groupe ADP and AENA, while sales included Norfolk Southern, Exelon and Dominion Energy.
Performance has lagged the benchmark over most recent periods. Over the five 12-month periods to 31 July, the fund underperformed in four, outperforming only in the year to July 2023. The review notes that the factsheet does not disclose Sharpe ratio, annualised volatility or maximum drawdown for this share class, so risk-adjusted conclusions are limited.
Positioning is concentrated, with a clear overweight to airport operators and electricity utilities and an underweight to gas and oil midstream. The United States is the largest single-country exposure, modestly above benchmark. The review's risk table highlights single-sector concentration, unhedged currency exposure, regulatory and political risk, concentration and liquidity risk, and style and cycle risk. On ESG, the review says utilities account for roughly 90% of portfolio emissions and that carbon intensity in that sub-sector fell 14% over five years. Screening uses UN Global Compact and OECD Guidelines via Sustainalytics data.
The review concludes that the fund suits investors seeking a dedicated real-asset allocation and accepts tracking difference in exchange for active selection. It notes the thesis would need revisiting if the management team changed or the performance gap widened beyond normal sector re-rating cycles. The analysis is based on the fund factsheet, the 2025 Annual Report and the Interim Report to 30 June 2026, and is not investment advice.
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