Infrastructure’s next chapter: powering a changing world

From artificial intelligence and data centres to electrification and the energy transition, powerful structural trends are reshaping the infrastructure opportunity. Peter Meany, Head of Global Listed Infrastructure at First Sentier Investors, speaks with Financial Standard about why the sector may be entering an especially interesting period. 

Infrastructure is undergoing significant change.

The growth of artificial intelligence and data centres is increasing demand for power, while electrification, renewable energy investment and continued urbanisation are creating substantial requirements for new and upgraded infrastructure.

For investors, these changes are challenging some long-held perceptions of the asset class.

In a recent feature with the Financial Standard, Peter Meany, Head of Global Listed Infrastructure at First Sentier Investors, discusses the structural forces transforming infrastructure businesses and the potential investment opportunities they are creating. 

The rapid expansion of data centres is creating significant demand for electricity infrastructure. Utilities are responding through investment in areas including new generation, renewable energy, battery storage, transmission networks and upgraded substations.

Large technology companies can support this investment through long-term contractual commitments to secure the power they require. This can provide utilities with the confidence to invest in the infrastructure needed to meet future demand. 

These dynamics are also changing the growth profile of parts of the infrastructure sector. Utilities, for example, face substantial investment opportunities as a result of these developments. In regulated business models, additional investment into the asset base can translate into faster earnings growth. 

This sits alongside characteristics that have long attracted investors to listed infrastructure, including easy-to-understand business models and contracted or regulated earnings streams. The Financial Standard feature also highlights inflation-linked income and diversification beyond technology-heavy equity indices. 

For the Global Listed Infrastructure team, identifying these opportunities involves looking beyond financial statements. Meeting companies and stakeholders face-to-face is an important part of understanding the quality and culture of the businesses behind the assets.

As infrastructure evolves in response to some of the world's most significant structural changes, that on-the-ground perspective can help investors distinguish between changing narratives and durable, long-term investment opportunities.

Watch the full episode below.

Watch the video below to hear Peter Meany discuss the changing infrastructure landscape and read the original Financial Standard feature published on Wednesday 28 October 2026, A sharp lens on global infrastructure.