By any measure, infrastructure has evolved considerably in the past few decades to become a robust, globally recognised asset class. For Susanta Mazumdar, founder of the Tribeca Asia Infrastructure Fund, that evolution is not academic. Over three decades of investing across project finance, public markets and private equity, he has witnessed firsthand the transformation of infrastructure into a strategic allocation for long-term investors. “It is a journey,” he says, “and I have seen the evolution of the asset class literally across all chunks.”
At the heart of Mazumdar’s thesis is infrastructure’s inherent resilience. Unlike equity markets driven by sentiment or technology stocks vulnerable to hype cycles, infrastructure’s value proposition is underpinned by secular demand. “No matter what happens to the world, every day we need power, water, data, hospitals,” he says. “The demand for infrastructure is relatively less elastic”. This defensive quality is particularly attractive in a world marked by geopolitical instability and volatile capital markets.
Importantly, Mazumdar highlights that the infrastructure universe is far broader than bridges and toll roads. Segments such as data centres, energy transition assets and healthcare infrastructure offer both growth and stability. “Each of these segments actually has a very strong secular growth component,” he says, pointing to US$ returns exceeding 9 per cent in 2023, without exposure to headline tech names like Samsung or TSMC. The message is clear: infrastructure isn’t just ballast, it’s ballast with a growth kicker.
One of the most compelling distinctions he draws is between listed and private infrastructure assets. While private equity has long been the dominant route for institutional infrastructure exposure, Mazumdar is critical of its valuation practices. “Private security deals in infrastructure are happening at 30 per cent to 40 per cent premiums to listed assets,” he says. He advocates for listed infrastructure as complementary to private assets, as the former provides transparency, liquidity and pricing discipline, while still offering access to similar assets and long-duration cash flows.
This valuation gap is even more glaring when looking at recent transactions. A data centre deal in Australia, for instance, was struck at nearly 50 times enterprise value (EV)/earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), a figure Mazumdar considers emblematic of froth. In contrast, he points out, public market infrastructure assets often trade at a significant discount, despite offering equivalent exposure and similar cash flow profiles. It is an arbitrage opportunity for investors with a long-term horizon and a tolerance for patience.
The Asia-focused nature of Mazumdar’s fund is not incidental. He believes Asia is structurally well-positioned in the infrastructure race, particularly in energy transition and digital infrastructure. The fund owns geothermal power in New Zealand, waste-to-energy plants in Australia, the largest data centre in China and the most profitable hospital assets in India. “These are high-quality assets across Asia,” he says, noting that localisation of data and the sheer population scale create long-term demand fundamentals that are hard to replicate elsewhere.
Mazumdar is also sceptical of the AI hype engulfing global equity markets. While he acknowledges AI’s long-term transformational potential, he draws parallels with the railway boom of the 19th century. “There is a kind of mantra forming,” he warns, “and there will be a lot of mis-steps in terms of over-spending.” In contrast, the infrastructure that supports digital growth, particularly data centres and transmission networks, is where he sees credible, bankable opportunities.
His insights on the US versus Asia are particularly stark. In Asia, he says, infrastructure approvals, particularly green energy connections, can take “literally a week or couple of weeks” in markets like India. In the US, however, fragmented regulatory regimes and underinvestment in transmission networks are key bottlenecks. “Our biggest exposure is actually the power network side,” he says. “You need to continuously invest to get power to the data centres.”
Interest rates, often a concern for infrastructure investors, are less of a worry for Mazumdar in the long term. While he admits that rising rates can compress valuations in the short run, he notes that infrastructure assets typically have inflation-linked pricing, which protects earnings. “Over a longer period of time, it is essentially the underlying cash flows and the growth element that matters more,” he says.
The portfolio adopts a regionally diversified approach, with holdings across China, Australia, India, New Zealand and Indonesia. This, Mazumdar says, allows the fund to take a bottom-up, opportunity-driven approach. “Healthcare infrastructure is a great opportunity in India,” he says, “while in Australia it might be gas pipelines and in New Zealand, the geothermal assets.” It is not a macro bet on Asia; instead, it is a mosaic of local insights applied with global discipline.
Mazumdar also situates infrastructure within the broader real assets category, alongside real estate and commodities. He sees listed infrastructure as offering the best of both worlds, real asset exposure with liquidity. “People underestimate the importance of liquidity,” he says. “Public and private markets are complementary. You need both.” A good example is (the former ASX-listed) Sydney Airport, which the fund held for over a decade before it was taken over at a large premium, demonstrating the optionality available in listed infrastructure.
As investors reconsider their asset allocation strategies in an environment of uncertainty, inflation risk and geopolitical instability, Mazumdar’s case for infrastructure is both rational and urgent. It offers defensive characteristics, long-duration cash flows, secular growth and geographic diversification. “It is part of the real asset allocation,” he says. “But with liquidity.”
For financial advisers, the implications are clear. Infrastructure is no longer a niche play for pension funds and sovereign wealth. With careful stock selection and a diversified approach, it can be a core allocation in high-net-worth portfolios seeking resilient, real-world returns. In Mazumdar’s view, it is not just about stacking the deck, it is about building the table.