A monthly review and outlook of the Global Listed Infrastructure sector.
Market review - as at January 2026
Global Listed Infrastructure began the year strongly as a backdrop of geopolitical volatility supported demand for defensive assets. The FTSE Global Core Infrastructure 50/50 index returned +4.2% in January, while the MSCI World index^ ended the month +2.2% higher.
The best performing infrastructure sector was Energy Midstream (+8%), which was buoyed by robust volumes and a positive earnings outlook. Higher oil and natural gas prices, owing to rising US-Iran tensions and unusually cold winter weather in the US respectively, also aided sentiment towards the sector.
The worst performing infrastructure sector was Towers / DCs (flat). Data Centres performed well as rising earnings and bullish commentary from large-cap tech stocks augured well for data centre demand in 2026. However, Towers lagged owing to softening earnings growth expectations and longer-term concerns about competition from Direct-to-Device satellite technology.
The best performing infrastructure region was the United Kingdom (+9%), whose regulated utility stocks rose on enthusiasm for the investment and growth opportunities associated with the UK government’s aim of decarbonising the country’s electricity system by 2030. The worst performing infrastructure region was Japan (+1%) which paused for breath following strong gains through the 2025 calendar year.
^ MSCI World Net Total Return Index (USD) is provided for information purposes only. Index returns are net of tax. Data to 31 January 2026. Source: Bloomberg, First Sentier Investors / Lipper IM. All stock and sector performance data expressed in local currency terms.
Market outlook and Strategy
The strategy invests in a range of listed infrastructure assets including toll roads, airports, railroads, utilities and renewables, energy midstream, wireless towers and data centers. These sectors share common characteristics, like barriers to entry and pricing power, which can provide investors with inflation-protected income and strong capital growth over the medium-term.
Toll roads remain the portfolio’s largest sector overweight. Their domestically focused business models give them limited direct sensitivity to tariffs or trade restrictions. Revenues are typically robust, supported by consistently high operating margins. Pricing is often linked to inflation, with negotiated compensation for additional capital expenditure. Over the medium term, additional road capacity will be needed to ease urban congestion in the developed world and to support economic development in the developing world. In the absence of sufficient government funding, toll road operators are well-positioned to meet this need.
Utilities / renewables make up a substantial part of the portfolio. These stocks are benefitting from unprecedented growth in demand for electricity, driven by the needs of AI and data centers, as well as industrial onshoring and a broad-based move towards electrification. Earnings growth rates for US utilities have already begun to accelerate due to the required investment to support greater demand for power. In the event of an economic downturn, utility earnings are likely to prove relatively resilient, owing to their regulated earnings frameworks and essential service nature.
The portfolio is underweight energy midstream. Within this space, the portfolio has overweight exposure to faster-growing US energy midstream stocks but is substantially underweight Canadian companies, which tend to have higher leverage and slower growth. Rising demand for electricity in the US, as well as being positive for utilities, is supporting demand for natural gas as a feedstock for gas-fired power plants, with scope to create additional growth opportunities for US-based energy midstream companies.
Source : Company data, First Sentier Investors, as of 31 January 2026.
Global Listed Infrastructure
Infrastructure powers the world we live in – and when it comes to on-the-ground research, our team can be found on site
Investing in global listed infrastructure can offer inflation-protected income and steady capital growth from real assets delivering essential services. We search for best-in-class assets worldwide with high barriers to entry, structural growth and pricing power.
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