Alternatives Under The Spotlight – UBP, TIME Investments

Amanda Cheesley

26 April 2023

The first quarter of 2023 saw a continuation of the rally in risk assets that started in the fourth quarter of 2022, as markets were pricing that peak interest rates are behind us, Kier Boley, CIO of , believes that alternative investments, such as infrastructure, have never looked more attractive. Yet retail investors remain under-allocated in the sector.

“This is set to change,” he said. According to a report by data provider Preqin, private capital assets under management are set to double by 2027, fuelled partly by greater retail investor interest in alternatives. See here.

“UK Infrastructure investment is already attracting interest from retail investors,” he continued. In 2021, UK infrastructure investments held by IA members stood at £40 billion ($50 billion). It offers an alternative to the current unpredictable stock markets and for those looking for long-term inflation-linked assets that can help to diversify a portfolio and align with environmental, social, and economic considerations.

“The sector is also set to benefit from the UK government’s £650 billion infrastructure investment programme, and has, over the past five years, improved its regulation, transparency, and liquidity, increasingly making it an investment opportunity for private investors,” he said.

In addition, the government reinforced its commitment to green infrastructure in October 2021, by releasing the Net Zero Strategy which includes targeting £90 billion of private investment by 2030, creating an attractive environment for renewable infrastructure.

“Investment in the digital infrastructure sector is also significant, making it an attractive opportunity,” Gill continued. In 2021, the UK’s technology sector attracted £27.4 billion in private capital, and the government’s ambition to make the country a “global science and tech superpower,” could see the sector’s annual gross value-added increase by an additional £41.5 billion by 2025. “Digital infrastructure assets can also provide long-term inflation-linked returns which help protect portfolios against rising interest rates,” he concluded.