Key Takeaways on the 2025 Infrastructure Market and 2026 Outlook from Infrastructure Investor America Forum

What is the current outlook for North American infrastructure? Ropes & Gray attorneys explored this question at the Infrastructure Investor America Forum in New York on November 4–5, drawing on perspectives from institutional investors, fund managers, and strategic partners regarding the asset class and its rapid evolution.

What makes this period unique and what are implications for the future?

There are unprecedented capital requirements for power and digital infrastructure—on the order of $10–20 trillion over the next decade—far outstripping prior infrastructure buildouts. Multiple waves are arriving at once: data centers and connectivity, clean power generation, and the systems that tie them together. 

Companies are increasingly pursuing independent grids and on-site generation to de-risk reliance on trade partners. The opportunity is extraordinary, but underwriting these projects is more complex given technology, policy, and interconnection risk.

What is the role of government in this wave of infrastructure development? 

Unlike in prior infrastructure booms, North America is not relying on large-scale public subsidization as abundant private capital is available. The highest-impact role for government is to fix permitting and interconnection bottlenecks to accelerate delivery.

Is 2025 a turning point for infrastructure investing?

The sector is evolving with mobility, work, and digitalization trends. And the market for deals is improving: M&A is reawakening, financing markets are healthier, and fundraising momentum is building, with a potential interest-rate cutting cycle providing a constructive tailwind for valuations and capital structures. The definitional boundaries of “infrastructure” continue to broaden, underpinning optimism into 2026.

What are current fundraising dynamics, including LP behavior?

Headline fundraising in 2025 appears strong, but much of what has been raised reflects final closes from prior years. As one example, Ropes & Gray recently advised Manulife on the final close of its 2024 vintage Manulife Infrastructure Fund III, raising $5.5 billion and significantly surpassing the original target raise. 

Denominator effects and muted distributions have constrained re-ups, even as early distribution activity begins to ease pressure at the margin. Brand scale is advantaged in competitive re-up environments; at the same time, expanded LP teams and diligence capacity may encourage off-market processes that support select smaller managers. The net result is still a tight market for GPs into 2026 despite incremental improvement.

What is the M&A landscape across the power, digital, and core verticals? 

M&A activity sits at a crossroads across three distinct timeframes. Over the century, scale, secular electrification and digital demand endure. Over the decade, the market is resetting from low-rate, PE-like return profiles to fundamentals-led value creation amid geopolitical complexity and longer exit timelines. In the here-and-now, deal flow has been start-and-stop, with valuation gaps persisting; investors are prioritizing contracted yield, distributions, and operational value creation while positioning for a more fluid market.

How is the allocation shifting between real estate and infrastructure?

The boundary between real estate and infrastructure is porous, but performance through market shocks has diverged. Real estate’s challenges have accelerated a reallocation toward infrastructure, where active company-level management, cash-flow durability, and diversified exposure better align with capital preservation objectives. 

What is the outlook for Europe?

While the conference focused primarily on North American infrastructure, there were quite a few insights on European infrastructure as well. Global LP interest in European infrastructure is building, attracted by relative stability, deep private markets, and compelling mid-market dynamics. Bilateral origination, valuation discipline, active asset management, and co-invest potential mirror the most attractive opportunities in the US mid-market. 

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