Performance and role of European listed infrastructure in a mixed‐asset portfolio

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of European listed infrastructure before, during and after the global financial crisis and the significance of European infrastructure in a mixed asset portfolio. The paper examines the level of correlation of European infrastructure with other major assets classes and substantiates the potential diversification benefits of including European infrastructure within a mixed asset portfolio. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses monthly investment return indices obtained from Thomson Reuters DataStream over a ten year period (2001‐2010). The paper analysed the European listed infrastructure investment return characteristics including average annual return, annual risk, Sharpe indices, mean variance portfolio and maximum return portfolio and computes the efficient portfolio frontiers using the risk solver optimization tool. Findings – This study shows that despite the global financial turmoil, a robust performance was seen by certain infrastructure sub‐sectors particularly European generation utilities, which posted positive annualised returns during the global financial crisis and European “ports” emerged as the overall best performing sub‐asset class during the post‐GFC period. Using the monthly return indices over the ten year period, European infrastructure investment was found to play a significant role in the optimality of multi asset portfolios. Originality/value – The originality of the paper stems from the analysis of the performance and significance of European listed infrastructure in a multi‐asset portfolio over unique periods which tested the resilience of European listed infrastructure performance over different financial climates including the global financial crisis period. This paper presents European listed infrastructure as an indication of rewarding investment outlets for investors in quest of exposure to the infrastructure industry and for those seeking to enhance investment portfolio performance.