Where the listed infrastructure opportunity set is heading in 2026, as the backdrop normalises and asset quality, earnings visibility and capital deployment into areas of genuine system need come to the fore.
Demand for infrastructure across energy and power, digital networks, healthcare and essential services is not only persistent but accelerating. Importantly, this demand is increasingly being met with regulatory support, long-dated frameworks and clearer pathways to return on capital.
What is distinctive about the current environment is not simply the scale of investment required, but its urgency. Long-run megatrends, such as electrification and digitalisation, are placing growing strain on existing systems, while a more volatile geopolitical backdrop is accelerating risks from years of underinvestment and forcing policymakers and regulators to act. In this context, infrastructure is a critical foundation in enabling economic productivity.
At the same time, we believe selectivity matters more than ever. Not all assets will benefit equally in their ability to attract capital and deliver durable returns. Some areas of the market remain vulnerable to speculative decisions or over-optimistic assumptions. The dispersion between high-quality, asset-backed infrastructure and more marginal projects is widening, creating both opportunity and risk for investors.
Key investment themes for 2026
Digital infrastructure: AI drives demand, but the opportunity is broader
AI remains an important driver of digital infrastructure demand, but its relevance for infrastructure investors lies in the physical systems required to support it rather than the technology narrative itself. Data growth, compute intensity and network traffic continue to underpin demand for digital infrastructure. 2026 will see the focus shift away from headline capacity expansion and towards asset quality, location and utilisation. Large, established data centre operators in established markets, with strong connectivity and diversified customer bases, are best positioned to benefit from AI alongside broader digitalisation trends, offering a more resilient earnings profile than narrow or speculative buildouts. Stocks we like: Equinix and Digital Realty
Power generation and storage: Urgency drives need for “All of the above”
Rising electricity demand, driven by widespread electrification, is placing immediate pressure on power systems. In this environment, there is no “silver bullet” to meeting demand growth while maintaining system stability. Renewables, gas and batteries all play a role in meeting near-term demand while maintaining system stability. Storage is increasingly central to decarbonising energy systems, enabling flexibility and supporting higher renewable penetration. We view the speed and scale of solar and battery storage technology to be a driving factor in deployment in 2026, with wind and gas playing a key role albeit on longer timescales. From an investment perspective, this favours platforms capable of deploying capital quickly across multiple technologies, rather than businesses reliant on a single, long-dated pathway.
Stocks we like: Grenergy and Brookfield Renewable
Transmission and grids: The utilities capex super-cycle continues
Grids remain the key constraint in matching power demand with supply. Years of underinvestment are now being reversed as regulators support large, multi-year capex programmes to modernise transmission networks. This is driven not only by decarbonisation goals, but the practical need to accommodate rising demand, improve resilience and connect new sources of supply. For high-quality utilities, this is translating into unprecedented visibility on capital deployment and allowed returns, supporting sustained, above-average earnings growth. Into 2026, regulated grid assets offer a rare combination of defensiveness, growth and earnings clarity.
Stocks we like: National Grid and Elia
Healthcare infrastructure: Momentum for earnings growth remains
Healthcare infrastructure is re-emerging as an attractive area of the market following a prolonged period of adjustment due to the pandemic. In the US, senior housing fundamentals are strong, as supply growth slows and demographic demand reasserts itself, creating scope for stand out earnings growth. In the UK, primary care assets such as GP surgeries continue to offer stable, asset-backed income supported by long-dated government contracts and limited new supply. Together, these segments highlight the appeal of healthcare infrastructure as a defensive allocation with improving fundamentals and genuine earnings growth rather than a purely yield-driven portfolio allocation.
Stocks we like: Chartwell Retirement Residences and Primary Health Properties
Rail infrastructure: Change may provide investment opportunity
Rail infrastructure continues to stand out as a critical, asset-backed component of national transport systems, supported by high barriers to entry, network scale advantages and durable pricing power. In North America, renewed focus on consolidation highlights the strategic value of large, integrated rail networks in driving efficiency, optimising capacity and improving service quality, although regulatory scrutiny remains an important consideration. Sustainability is an increasingly important part of the investment case, with rail offering a structurally lower-emissions alternative to road freight1 and playing a growing role in supply chain resilience. Into 2026, we believe regulatory developments could act as a catalyst for a selective re-rating across the sector, with valuation support already evident in parts of the market and the potential for merger-related volatility to create attractive entry points elsewhere.
Stocks we like: Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City
Water infrastructure: A reset in the investment case
Water infrastructure is entering a period of reset after years of underinvestment and regulatory strain, with frameworks increasingly geared towards supporting higher, multi-year capital expenditure focused on resilience, environmental compliance and network renewal. This is improving alignment between public policy objectives and the need for utilities to earn a reasonable return on capital, supporting better earnings visibility for well-positioned operators. Sustainability is central to this investment case, and it is something we see as a key driver of risk and ultimately an enabler of return. Effective delivery of environmental outcomes, water quality improvements and long-term asset stewardship is a prerequisite for regulatory support and value creation. In 2026, we see selective opportunities emerging where asset criticality, balance sheet strength and credible sustainability programs combine to offer improved risk-adjusted returns.
Stocks we like: Severn Trent and American Water Works
Risk: The FP Foresight Global Real Infrastructure Fund, the FP Foresight UK Infrastructure Income Fund and the FP Foresight Sustainable Real Estate Securities Fund are Equity funds and the FP Foresight Diversified Real Assets Fund is a Multi-Asset fund. Investors should be willing and able to assume the risks of investing in these funds. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency movement; you may not get back the amount originally invested. The Funds are actively managed with the UK CPI +3% and the FTSE EPRA NAREIT Developed Net TRI GBP used as comparator benchmarks only.
This is marketing communication. Please refer to the prospectus, supplement and KIID/KID for the funds, which contain full information on the risks and detailed information on their characteristics and objectives, before making any final investment decisions.
Disclaimer: This insight may provide information about Fund portfolios, including recent activity and performance and may contain facts relating to equity markets and our own interpretation. Any investment decision should take account of the subjectivity of the comments contained in this insight. This insight is provided for information only and all the information contained in it is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete; any opinions stated are honestly held at the time of writing but are not guaranteed. The contents of this insight should not therefore be relied upon. It should not be taken as a recommendation to make an investment in the Funds or to buy or sell individual securities, nor does it constitute an offer for sale.
