4D Infrastructure, a Bennelong Funds Management investment partner, has marked the tenth anniversary of its 4D Global Infrastructure Fund (Unhedged), which has delivered annualised returns of over 10 per cent net of fees and expenses since inception.*
The active global listed infrastructure manager, founded by Global Portfolio Manager Sarah Shaw, launched the Fund in 2016 with the conviction that a rigorously managed, genuinely global portfolio of listed infrastructure assets could deliver reliable, inflation-aware returns through market cycles.
Over the past decade, the Fund has navigated a global pandemic, supply chain disruption, a surge in inflation not seen since the 1980s, a European land war, and an energy crisis. Throughout, infrastructure earnings have held up, reflecting the structural characteristics that define the asset class: long-duration contracted or regulated revenue streams, essential service monopolies, and pricing mechanisms with inflation linkage.
Sarah says the infrastructure investment universe had been transformed over the Fund’s first decade:
“When we launched the Fund in 2016, the global infrastructure universe was narrower and less sophisticated than it is today. The investment themes we identified at inception – chronic under-investment in developed market infrastructure, global population growth, and the rise of the emerging-market middle class – remain significant. But two additional themes have since emerged with a scale that few anticipated.
The first is the energy transition. The decarbonisation of the global economy requires an unprecedented build-out of generation, transmission, and storage capacity. The second is AI and its demand for electricity, water, and digital infrastructure. The major hyperscalers are forecast to collectively deploy more than USD 600 billion in capital expenditure in 2026 alone, with the vast majority directed at data centre expansion.”
Looking ahead, 4D identifies at least six forces due to shape the global infrastructure universe over the next decade: the growing need for investment to support the energy transition; rising electricity demand linked to AI; the expanding emerging-market opportunity set; the recognition of the need for global water security; the reshaping of transport, logistics, and industrial infrastructure by deglobalisation; and the narrowing of the unlisted-to-listed valuation gap.
“Infrastructure is not just a defensive allocation – it’s a structural growth story. The energy transition, the digital economy, the reshoring of supply chains, and the emerging-market build-out have created a pipeline of infrastructure investment needs that will define capital allocation for the next generation,” Sarah said.
“What hasn’t changed is our approach. Disciplined country and sector analysis. Rigorous bottom-up stock selection. A focus on quality assets with visible earnings, genuine competitive moats, and appropriate valuations.”
Bennelong Funds Management Chief Executive Officer John Burke said 4D’s ten-year track record reflected the strength of Sarah’s leadership and the team’s disciplined investment process.
“4D has consistently demonstrated the value of a genuinely global, research-driven approach to listed infrastructure. Over ten years and through some of the most challenging market conditions in modern history, the team has delivered for investors while building one of Australia’s most respected specialist infrastructure managers,” John said.
“We are proud of the partnership and look forward to supporting 4D’s continued growth.”
* The 4D Global Infrastructure Fund (Unhedged) returned 10.36 per cent per annum net of fees and expenses for the ten years to 31 March 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
