To invest or not to invest — that is the question with which most pension plans in North America that are interested in the infrastructure sector are contemplating. More specifically, plan sponsors big and small are wondering whether the offerings of a variety of infrastructure funds — private or listed, bank-sponsored or independent — are really the best vehicles to get their infrastructure asset class exposure. Despite some of the high-profile brands behind them, the returns delivered by such funds during the past few years have been, at best, mixed. The promise of diversification into long-term, stable, high-yielding assets hasn’t always been delivered. And yet, somehow, the managers — or the banks behind them — seem to do pretty well, regardless.

Perhaps the more relevant question isn’t really whether one should invest, but how one should invest. The question plan sponsors should really be asking is: What’s the best investment vehicle or strategy to invest