A monthly review and outlook of the Global Listed Infrastructure sector.
Market review - as at July 2025
Global Listed Infrastructure gained in July, buoyed by healthy earnings results, corporate activity within the asset class and rising interest in listed infrastructure assets from private market buyers. The FTSE Global Core Infrastructure 50/50 index returned +0.3% in July, while the MSCI World index ended the month +1.3% higher.
The best performing infrastructure sector was Airports (+4%), led by Asian and European operators which gained against a backdrop of generally robust passenger volumes. Utilities / Renewables (+3%) also performed well. US electric utilities gained as political uncertainty eased following the passage of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) into law on July 4th. The worst performing infrastructure sector was Towers / Data Centres (-3%), which gave up ground following strong ytd gains.
The best performing infrastructure region was Japan (+6%), reflecting strong gains for its electric utilities and passenger railroads. The worst performing infrastructure region was Latin America (-3%) as underperformance from Brazil’s broader stock market weighed on the country’s transport infrastructure and utility stocks.
Market outlook and Strategy
The Portfolio 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.
The asset class remains supported by several structural growth drivers. Electric utilities, particularly in the US, face higher capital expenditure needs to meet the increases in electricity demand being driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), data centres, onshoring of manufacturing and electrification. While additional equity will be needed to fund some of this capex, this theme should also enable the sector’s Earnings per Share growth to accelerate from a typical range of between 3% and 5% per annum to between 5% and 8% per annum, representing a meaningful positive shift. Higher-than-expected prices for the 2026-27 PJM capacity auction (the mechanism which manages the electric grid across 13 eastern US states and Washington DC) provided the latest data point highlighting robust US power demand.
This rising demand is also likely to bolster the need for natural gas, which has a crucial role to play in maintaining energy reliability and affordability. As well as benefitting utilities, this is also likely to drive additional demand for North American energy transportation, storage and export assets, presenting energy midstream companies with new opportunities to invest and grow.
Digitalisation is another key theme for the asset class. We expect structural growth in demand for mobile data (underpinned by an ever-growing reliance on digital connectivity) to support long-term earnings growth for Towers. The adoption of 5G technology over coming years will require networks to handle increased data speed and lower latency as well as a much higher number of connected devices. The surge of interest in AI is driving data center demand, as well as boosting the need for electricity. Data centers are also benefitting from companies seeking the improved reliability and flexibility offered by cloud computing.
Source : Company data, First Sentier Investors, as of 31 July 2025.
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.
Read our latest insights
Important Information
Investment involves risks, past performance is not a guide to future performance. Refer to the offering documents of the respective funds for details, including risk factors. The information contained within this material has been obtained from sources that First Sentier Group believes to be reliable and accurate at the time of issue but no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the fairness, accuracy or completeness of the information. To the extent permitted by law, neither First Sentier Group, nor any of its associates, nor any director, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss arising directly or indirectly from any use of this. It does not constitute investment advice and should not be used as the basis of any investment decision, nor should it be treated as a recommendation for any investment. The information in material may not be edited and/or reproduced in whole or in part without the prior consent of First Sentier Group. Reference to specific securities (if any) is included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. All securities mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of First Sentier Group’s portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change over time.
This material is issued by First Sentier Investors (Hong Kong) Limited and has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. First Sentier Group, First Sentier Investors, FSSA Investment Managers, Stewart Investors, RQI Investors and Igneo Infrastructure Partners are the business names of First Sentier Investors (Hong Kong) Limited.
First Sentier Investors (Hong Kong) Limited is part of the investment management business of First Sentier Group, which is ultimately owned by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (“MUFG”), a global financial group. First Sentier Group includes a number of entities in different jurisdictions.
To the extent permitted by law, MUFG and its subsidiaries are not responsible for any statement or information contained in this material. Neither MUFG nor any of its subsidiaries guarantee the performance of any investment or entity referred to in this material or the repayment of capital. Any investments referred to are not deposits or other liabilities of MUFG or its subsidiaries, and are subject to investment risk, including loss of income and capital invested.
© First Sentier Group
 |  |
|---|