Insights

Opinion pieces from the team, and uses cases covering private markets, infrastructure investment, climate change, social risk, and more.

Featured image for “The Inflation Hedge That Isn’t: What the Eastern Distributor Reveals About Real Returns”

The Inflation Hedge That Isn’t: What the Eastern Distributor Reveals About Real Returns

Feb. 10, 2026
Infrastructure is sold as an inflation hedge. The pitch is intuitive: toll roads, utilities, and other essential assets often have revenues explicitly linked to consumer prices. When inflation rises, so do tariffs. The asset should therefore preserve real purchasing power for investors, offering protection that bonds and equities cannot. Toll roads are frequently cited as the clearest example. Unlike regulated
Featured image for “How to Control the New Infrastructure Cycle: Where Investors Really Create Value”

How to Control the New Infrastructure Cycle: Where Investors Really Create Value

Jan. 12, 2026
From energy transition to digital infrastructure: how private infrastructure is reshaping the playing field of risk, appreciation and opportunities for institutional investors. Infrastructure is developing faster than ever. The boundaries between traditional and new infrastructure assets are shifting due to the energy transition, digital connectivity and changing regulation. What once seemed like a relatively stable, contract-driven asset class today requires
Featured image for “Beyond the Illusion of Stability: The Case for Valuation Discipline in Private Markets”

Beyond the Illusion of Stability: The Case for Valuation Discipline in Private Markets

Nov. 27, 2025
A credible valuation regime, grounded in procedural clarity and technological capability, is indispensable to investor fairness, systemic resilience, and the legitimacy of private markets. A new paper from EDHEC Infra & Private Assets highlights why expanding private markets require more timely, transparent, and disciplined valuation. Since the global financial crisis, institutional investors have undertaken a structural reallocation toward private markets,
Featured image for “Fair Value or Fair Guess? Inside the Engines of Infrastructure Valuation”

Fair Value or Fair Guess? Inside the Engines of Infrastructure Valuation

Jun. 23, 2025
The valuations of unlisted assets anchor everything from capital-allocation and risk-management decisions and regulatory reporting. Yet, despite the principles-based guidance of IFRS 13, ASC 820, and the IPEV Guidelines, day-to-day practice remains opaque and highly discretionary. A recent paper from EDHEC Infra & Private Assets provides the first large-scale empirical portrait of those practices. Drawing on a global survey of
Featured image for “Comments to House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets on Expanding Private Market Access in Retirement Plans”

Comments to House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets on Expanding Private Market Access in Retirement Plans

Apr. 08, 2025
The EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Research Institute (EIPA) has submitted detailed comments to the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets regarding the potential inclusion of private market investments in 401(k) and other retirement vehicles. EIPA’s analysis underscores that while private equity can offer significant diversification benefits, it also introduces complex risks that require robust safeguards to protect individual
Featured image for “Private Assets Scrutinised”

Private Assets Scrutinised

Mar. 21, 2025
The growth in private assets Since 2012, EY estimates that private assets increased their Assets Under Management (AUM) from US$9.7 trillion to US$24.4 trillion by the end of 2023.1 This growth, has seen private managers tap different sources of capital. Starting with traditional investors such as endowments, pension funds and insurance companies, the managers have innovated, identifying permanent sources of