The year of 2021 proved a blockbuster year for infrastructure fundraising and M&A activity, according to IJInvestor research.

In the decade we have tracked infra vehicles to final close, last year was the best on record with capital accrued worth $136 billion.

We posit that it is precisely because of global uncertainty in geopolitics, economics and threats to the environment and human progress, that LPs are inclined towards the reliability of infrastructure investing.

The results prove that confidence in infrastructure as an asset class is robust, with a 32% increase in commitments since 2019 – a year that was almost entirely characterised by the phrase “business as usual”.

Last year marked the first year that the top 5 funds contributed just 40% of inflows. This speaks to a sizable number of vehicles raising funds in excess of $1 billion, and so infrastructure vehicles exhibit an ever-growing minimum size.

While sector-agnostic strategies continue to be the favourite strategy of managers, this year saw a larger share of vehicles closing, with a focus on pure plays in digital infrastructure and renewables. New offerings focused on hydrogen exclusively were launched with combined targets of $2.5 billion.

Last year was a stellar year for M&A investment: $68.59 billion was ploughed into secondaries, mirroring global trends which demonstrate a very strong 2021. Great walls of capital and pent up demand from 2020 contributed to the impressive show.

Looking forward, 2022 promises to be a remarkable year. Consolidation of asset managers – which began last year – will continue. So too will efforts to promote stronger ESG credentials explicitly in fundraising metrics.

And most exciting is the expected launch of infrastructure mega vehicles – the largest ever offered. Paying attention to the investment cycle for the past 2 years suggests that the infrastructure behemoths, such as GIP and Brookfield, will come to market with vehicles that could top $30 billion.

To access the report (it takes two clicks) CLICK HERE…