In this episode of Pathways, Daniel McCormack is joined by Aizhan Meldebek, Macquarie Asset Management’s Global Infrastructure Strategist, to unpack the findings from her updated research on private infrastructure valuation multiples. Drawing on a proprietary dataset of over 1,300 real transactions going back to 2008, they explore why infrastructure multiples have largely normalised — and now sit at a rare discount to listed equities. The conversation covers how inflation and interest rates are the primary macro drivers of entry multiples, why the widely-held concern about dry powder pushing up valuations isn't supported by the data, and how sector dynamics play out across digital infrastructure, transport, utilities, and renewables. The episode closes with a forward-looking scenario analysis: what the current macro environment — higher inflation, steady-to-rising rates — could mean for infrastructure multiples ahead.

For more information about this episode, including a transcript, and to explore Macquarie's multi-asset capabilities:

https://www.macquarie.com/about/company/macquarie-asset-management/institutional/insights/pathways/infrastructure-valuations.html

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AI dominates every conversation with infrastructure investors right now, but most of the commentary is either too breathless or too dismissive. In this episode of Pathways, Daniel McCormack, Head of Research at Macquarie Asset Management, is joined by Aizhan Meldebek, Global Infrastructure Strategist, and Anton Moldan, Head of US Digital Infrastructure at Macquarie Asset Management, to dig into where AI is actually creating value for infrastructure — and where the hype has run ahead of reality.

Aizhan starts with the jobs debate before walking through her sector-by-sector "heatmap" of AI's impact across the infrastructure universe, from clear beneficiaries to more nuanced calls — and what it would mean for the asset class if the AI investment cycle disappointed.

Anton then brings an on-the-ground view from data centre development, covering pre-lease capital risk, power availability, the training-versus-inference debate, and where enterprise AI adoption really stands today.

Related content: What AI can't build: The enduring role of infrastructure in a disrupted world.

https://www.macquarie.com/about/company/macquarie-asset-management/institutional/insights/pathways/what-ai-cant-build.html

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Everyone talks about infrastructure as the assets you can see—grids, renewables, transport and digital. But there’s a second layer many investors overlook: the specialist service companies that build, maintain, test, secure, and modernise those assets.

In this episode of Pathways, Daniel McCormack is joined by Andrew Olinick, Head of Private Equity & Adjacencies at Macquarie Asset Management, to explore the fast-growing universe of ‘infrastructure adjacencies’. They discuss why these services are becoming essential as infrastructure ages, regulation tightens, and operational complexity rises. The conversation covers grid resilience and outage risk, vegetation management as a mission-critical utility spend, life extension and repowering in wind, and how drones, sensors, and AI are reshaping inspection and predictive maintenance. The episode also examines why data centre complexity and the cost of failure are driving demand for specialised engineering, cooling, certification, and physical security — and why this category can offer ‘defensive growth’ at the intersection of infrastructure and private equity.

For more information about episodes, including transcripts, and to explore Macquarie's multi-asset capabilities:

https://www.macquarie.com/about/company/macquarie-asset-management/institutional/insights.html#podcasts

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Relevant disclaimers and other information can be found here.