WHY COHEN & STEERS

Experienced global investment team

Our investment team is one of the largest dedicated to listed infrastructure investing, with leadership that has overseen our infrastructure investing since 2004

First-mover advantage

Development of new investment strategies focused on the digital infrastructure ecosystem

Industry access

Global investment teams provide on the ground access to companies and assets

WHY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Access to the next generation of infrastructure

Companies that we believe facilitate or benefit from the secular trend of exponential growth of data usage and the evolution of the digital infrastructure ecosystem

Concentrated portfolio and approach

Designed to minimize overlap with commonly held technology names

Real Assets

Multi-sector exposure

Targets a balance of larger secular winners and smaller, less well-known companies that can drive alpha across three segments: infrastructure, hardware and software

The growth and importance of data in societies and economies has continued to increase as digital solutions are adopted by consumers. Businesses rely more heavily on data to make decisions and differentiate themselves. A growing number of data points are continuously generated and require a variety of industries to facilitate transfer and usability. This puts the owners, operators and developers of digital infrastructure assets in a unique position.

The Cohen & Steers Digital Infrastructure Strategy employs a total-return, relative-value approach to investing in global listed infrastructure. The strategy invests in companies that we believe facilitate or benefit from the exponential growth of data usage and the evolution of the digital infrastructure ecosystem. The strategy accesses the growing demand for digital infrastructure across three different segments: infrastructure, hardware and software. The strategy seeks to generate capital appreciation over an entire business cycle.

Our portfolio managers are able to draw upon digital experts across both our listed real estate and infrastructure teams. These experienced resources are dedicated to analyzing infrastructure, real estate, and digital asset securities.

FEATURED INSIGHT

Essential assets: The case for listed infrastructure

Investors’ search for diversification and inflation protection has put a spotlight on infrastructure, made brighter by massive public investment programs and the accelerating transition to a digitized, decarbonized economy.

November 2021 | 1 min

WHY INVEST WITH US

Delivering value to our clients

Cohen & Steers has been investing in listed infrastructure since we launched our flagship Global Listed Infrastructure Strategy in 2004. Based on our commitment to global listed infrastructure and our drive for excellence, we have built a platform positioned to outperform our peers and deliver compelling returns for our clients.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

An experienced team

Arun Sharma

Portfolio Manager, Thematic Strategies

21 years of experience

Ji Zhang, CFA

Portfolio Manager, Global Real Estate

16 years of experience

+1 analyst

PORTFOLIO SPECIALIST GROUP

Supporting our investment team and clients

Michelle Butler

Senior Portfolio Specialist

27 years of experience

Evan Serton

Senior Portfolio Specialist

22 years of experience

As data has become irreplaceable for societies and critical drivers for many companies’ growth, the evolution of the digital ecosystem is now a powerful secular trend, and we believe there is a multiyear growth opportunity within digital infrastructure.

Digital transformations are positively affecting many industries

which creates a diversified investment universe to capitalize on the trend.

We believe a broad exposure to the entire data value chain

allows for tactical allocation while remaining exposed to the theme of digitalization.

The strategy could help broaden an existing infrastructure allocation

or a thematic allocation to increase exposure to this long-term secular trend.

APPROACH

Our investment process

The strategy’s process is intended to create a concentrated portfolio of companies that derive significant revenues from the digital infrastructure ecosystem.

Investment universe
Our core investment universe includes owner/operators of the large-scale infrastructure, physical hardware, and digital software assets that create, and derive significant revenues from, the digital infrastructure ecosystem. We eliminate illiquid securities and companies that do not have the secular/cyclical characteristics we seek.

Fundamental research
Analysts are responsible for conducting detailed bottom-up research, developing high-conviction views on fundamentals and valuations on the companies they cover. We continually reassess management’s capabilities to add value and deliver on its goals. In addition, we integrate ESG factors into our research and valuation models.

Subsector analysis
The team assesses global investment cycles, product cycles, and economic cycles for investment opportunities and evaluates trends at the subsector level. We use a proprietary sub-sector allocation framework and a multi factor ranking model to screen subsectors based on both a fundamental and valuation basis.

Portfolio construction
After we have determined subsector positioning, outputs from security-level models quantify relative value within each subsector. As valuations change, we rotate capital among individual securities. Risk management, diversification, liquidity and other factors are also key considerations.

Market developments at Credit Suisse 

Market developments at Credit Suisse 

March 2023 | 6 mins

The government-backed deal for UBS to acquire Credit Suisse will trigger a complete write-down of the nominal value of all Credit Suisse additional tier 1 bonds. We believe Credit Suisse is most likely to be an isolated incident, while we have been reducing our portfolios’ exposure to Credit Suisse significantly over the past several months.

Client brief: Addressing developments at regional banks

Addressing developments at regional banks

March 2023 | 8 mins

The U.S. government's actions to minimize risk across the banking industry following the events of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have strong potential to prevent further bank runs and subsequent bank failures. But scrutiny of some regional banks will persist. 

Citywire Selector: Fed insider-turned-bond boss backs central banks to beat inflation

March 2023 | 1 min

Head of Fixed Income and Preferred Securities Bill Scapell spoke with Citywire Selector about Cohen & Steers’ preferred securities strategy and his fixed income outlook as central banks battle inflation.

The preferred securities asset allocation advantage

The preferred securities asset allocation advantage

February 2023 | 12 mins

Preferreds offer long-term return potential superior to investment-grade and comparable to high-yield bonds, with diversification and quality advantages.

Institutional Investor: Competition Is Fierce for Private Infrastructure Deals. Here’s An Alternative

February 2023 | 1 min

Portfolio Manager Tyler Rosenlicht spoke with Institutional Investor for a feature story on our recent infrastructure thought leadership and why listed infrastructure can be an attractive alternative or complement to private infrastructure in a portfolio.

Five reasons to consider preferred securities if you own municipal bonds

Five reasons to consider preferred securities if you own municipal bonds

February 2023 | 11 mins

With many investors feeling the sting of taxes, municipal bonds aren’t the only option for tax-advantaged income. Preferred securities currently offer among the highest after-tax yields in fixed income, regardless of tax bracket.

Need to contact us?

We’d be happy to answer questions about our investment solutions or any corporate-related inquiries.