The infrastructure sector is being driven by multiple structural trends, given the substantial scale of government and private investment required to upgrade aging assets and build new infrastructure.
Zishitang has recently obtained a research report from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which shows that private market investors are generally more optimistic about the investment environment and have higher expectations for liquidity release through various exit routes.
The above observation is based on a new global survey conducted by Goldman Sachs’ buy-side division among more than 250 General Partners (GPs) and Limited Partners (LPs).
This survey report points out: sentiment among private market investors demonstrates resilience, with the most notable improvement seen in real asset strategies. Investors are most optimistic about infrastructure and private equity in the coming year.
Zishitang has compiled the following summary of this survey report for readers’ reference.
Which sectors are the most favored?
Sentiment among private market investors demonstrates resilience, with the most notable improvement seen in real asset strategies. Investors believe that investment opportunities in the following areas will remain consistent or improve over the next year:
Infrastructure (93%)
Private Equity (82%)
Real Estate (81%)
Private Credit (70%)
Tavis Cannell, Global Head of Infrastructure Investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, stated: “Given the substantial scale of government and private investment required to upgrade aging assets and build new infrastructure, the infrastructure sector is being driven by multiple structural trends. Extensive investment opportunities exist in areas related to artificial intelligence and digitalization, energy production and transmission, evolving global trade patterns, as well as waste management and water supply systems. The asset class’s performance over the past 20-plus years highlights its resilience and inflation-hedging capabilities while offering growth potential for investors, particularly in mid-market segments where active ownership and value creation can unlock significant upside.”
Asset managers are more optimistic about unlocking liquidity through exit mechanisms.
The survey shows that general partners consider valuation as the biggest challenge for committing to new projects, with 63% of respondents identifying valuation as a key factor.
“In terms of exits, 60% of respondents also view valuation as the primary challenge, second only to macroeconomic uncertainty,” the report states.
General partners anticipate that traditional exit routes will expand significantly, especially strategic sales (80% of surveyed general partners may adopt this approach, up from 56% in 2024). This is followed by sales led by financial investors (70% of surveyed general partners are considering this option, compared to 42% in 2024).
Moreover, 63% of surveyed general partners believe they are at least somewhat likely to unlock liquidity through IPOs in the next year, compared to just 35% a year ago.
General partners are also broadening their approaches: 30% of surveyed general partners indicated they might utilize continuation vehicles, up from less than 20% last year. Overall, the number of general partners who reported they were at least somewhat likely to use continuation vehicles increased by 6% compared to the 2024 survey.
Limited partners are also taking a more active approach to managing their liquidity and balancing their asset allocation through secondary markets. 17% of surveyed limited partners reported selling assets on the secondary market this year, up from 11% last year.
Evergreen structures gain favor among institutions.
Survey results indicate that Evergreen structures are gaining popularity not only in wealth management. Over 30% of surveyed limited partners from various institutions have either utilized or expressed interest in using Evergreen structures for private equity and infrastructure investments.
More than half of the applications are in the private credit space, with over 40% utilized in real estate. Additionally, more than 80% of surveyed large general partners are either offering or considering providing Evergreen structures, whereas only one-quarter of general partners managing assets under $10 billion provide this structure.
Source: news.futunn.com
