Infrastructure Compensation

Core compensation closes in

As the infrastructure sector’s heavyweight asset managers continued to focus on product diversification, 2021 saw the gap in compensation between core infra and private equity infra funds narrow significantly, Tharshini Ashokan reports

Core infrastructure appears to be having a moment. Thanks in no small part to the resilience the sector has shown through the pandemic, core infrastructure funds are attracting more investment than before, with a number of firms launching new core funds in order to make the most of the sector’s rise in popularity. Swedish private equity firm EQT’s Active Core Infrastructure fund, which launched in March and seeks to raise €5 billion, is a recent case in point. As Vauban Infrastructure’s deputy chief executive Mounir Corm told us last month when asked about the increased appetite for core infrastructure, “returns have been strong and yields have been maintained. The essentiality of these assets is proven and that has re-enforced appetite from clients.”

A look at the latest data from re-recruitment and advisory firm Sousou Partners on the base salaries and bonuses executives earned in 2021 – shared exclusively with Infrastructure Investor – suggests the sector’s appetite for core infrastructure is also reflected in executives’ earnings. Not only did compensation for core infrastructure investment professionals rise in 2021, it grew at a faster rate than the compensation of those executives’ private equity counterparts.

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Published on – Infrastructure Investor • April 2022