IFM Investors: "Infrastructure Investment in Developed Markets to Surge"...Outlook for This Year's Private Markets

With developed countries expected to sharply increase infrastructure capital expenditures in 2026, a forecast has emerged that large amounts of capital will also flow into the private equity (PE) market.

On February 5, global asset manager IFM Investors (IFM) released a report titled "Private Markets Macro Outlook," stating, "As investors this year prioritize resilience, capacity and capability, and long-term sustainability, we expect to see a significant expansion of capital deployment across energy systems, telecommunications infrastructure, and transport networks."

IFM stressed that the need to maintain, modernize, and upgrade existing infrastructure is expanding, and that this is accelerating a capital expenditure (CAPEX) supercycle in the infrastructure equity investment market.

Julio Garcia, Head of North American Infrastructure at IFM, said, "In many regions of the developed world, infrastructure investment is severely lacking, while the pace of technological change is accelerating and its impact is rapidly spreading across everyday life," adding, "In this environment, a large-scale infrastructure capital expenditure cycle to expand and upgrade future core assets such as transport, energy, utilities, and telecommunications will be essential."

Regarding infrastructure equity investments, IFM projected that, supported by the rapid growth of the power-hungry data center industry, substantial capital inflows will continue over the next year into both traditional energy and renewable energy. It also forecast that increased power demand driven by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI), digitalization, and electrification will underpin growth across the global energy market.

In addition, IFM explained that the electrification trend and surging data center demand are creating new investment opportunities in the infrastructure debt market, and that this is reshaping investment priorities around energy-intensive digital assets.

It further assessed that, in this environment, capital is flowing into projects that support economic growth, energy security, and digital expansion, thereby strengthening investment demand for real assets centered on infrastructure.

Rich Randall, Global Head of Debt Investments at IFM, said, "Investor demand for power, energy, and digital assets across developed markets is expected to persist, and infrastructure debt is likely to remain robust in 2026," adding, "Debt continues to play a core role in the capital structure of infrastructure, and as a result, we expect to see ongoing stable investment opportunities in financing needed for infrastructure companies' upgrades, expansions, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate operations."

From a macroeconomic perspective, IFM assessed that global financial markets ended 2025 on a more stable footing than expected. However, it projected that policy uncertainty and trade tensions will remain key risks in 2026. In this context, IFM added that "unlisted infrastructure continues to be viewed as an attractive destination for investors seeking a hedge against market volatility."

Meanwhile, IFM is a global asset management company jointly established and owned by pension funds in Australia and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1994, it managed a total of 263.6 billion Australian dollars (approximately 266 trillion won) in assets as of October 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.