Investor interest in the listed infrastructure remains strong despite experienced equity-like volatility in 2008, exacerbated by high levels of gearing, according to a Standard & Poor's sector review.
S&P Fund Services analyst Simone Arblaster said institutional pension plans in particular have "long been attracted to the long-duration inflation-linked and relatively stable investment characteristic of this sector".
Arblaster said an "interesting observation" from the review was just how critical the choice of benchmark is in the listed infrastructure sector.
"Unlike most other asset classes, the market is still coming to terms with how listed infrastructure managers should be measured and benchmarked."
The review, including five international managers and one domestic manager, assigned two new ratings and noted three withdrawals.
Goldman Sachs JBWere Australian Infrastructure Wholesale fund was the biggest mover in the review, up from three stars to four stars, while UBS Global Infrastructure Securities Fund was closed.
A major super fund has defended its use of private markets in a submission to ASIC, asserting that appropriate governance and information-sharing practices are present in both public and private markets.
A member body representing some prominent wealth managers is concerned super funds’ dominance is sidelining small companies in capital markets.
Earlier this month, several Australian superannuation funds fell victim to credential stuffing attacks, which saw a small number of members lose more than $500,000.
Small- to medium-sized funds have become collateral damage in an "imperfect" model for super industry levies, a financial institution has said.