Why infrastructure is attracting private wealth investors

For Ardian, the rise of private wealth is already translating into tangible growth. It represented almost 15% of capital raised in the past 2 years– around €3 billion each year. Over the same period, Ardian’s Private Wealth Solutions business line reached €20 billion in AUM.  

At the recent IPEM Wealth conference in Cannes, industry professionals agreed infrastructure stood out as a particularly compelling asset class for this investor segment. Investor survey data points in the same direction: Preqin reported that 67% of Europe-based private wealth investors expect to increase their infrastructure exposure over the next 12 months.  

Infrastructure: a compelling opportunity for private wealth 

The themes behind infrastructure strongly resonate with long-term investors, says Paugam. “Energy transition, digital and AI, and transport are deeply connected investment themes – none can scale without the others, and all are driven by long-term, unavoidable demand.” Ardian’s Infrastructure platform is designed to give private wealth investors diversified, institutional quality exposure to these growth trends.  

Our last evergreen vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, exemplifies the approach. The platform enables investors to benefit from Ardian’s expertise in both direct infrastructure investments and infrastructure secondaries. This distinctive combination of direct, essential infrastructure with secondary exposure seeks to provide investors with access to high-quality assets aiming to offer recurring yield, positive exposure to inflation and resilient returns, as well as secondary portfolios that support increased diversification and typically help to reduce J-curve effects.  

Reaching the private wealth client: distribution partnerships 

As the market becomes more competitive, many in the industry are asking how to best reach clients. For Paugam, the answer lies in robust, carefully chosen distribution partnerships. “The right distribution partner is one who is fully aligned with your vision, offers the right advice and support, and combines client reach with local, specialized expertise,” he explains. “Distributors need strong operational capabilities and brand recognition, but partner selection is also about balance: solving for what could prevent private investors to allocate to private markets, ensuring simplicity in tools and content, and making sure the model empowers advisors, who know their clients best.”  

In private wealth, complexity is inevitable, he says. But the ability to address different segments with dedicated solutions offering digestible, easy-to-use materials is what drives adoption and trust. For Ardian, this means close collaboration with private banks, wealth managers and advisors, supported by targeted education and tools.  

This requires spending time with clients and advisors, listening carefully to understand their needs and wants, and equipping advisors with the right tools to deliver value.  

“Wealth management necessitate qualified advise and can be more costly,” says Paugam “All stakeholders, including GPs, must accept the realities of distribution costs. Fees should always be justified, and discussions around them must consider the effort required from advisors. In the end, the most effective distribution strategy is one that blends operational excellence, economic discipline, and deep client insight.”  

As the role of private wealth in private markets continues to expand – and as infrastructure rises up allocation agendas – Ardian’s combination of evergreen vehicles, a pioneering infrastructure strategy and curated distribution partnerships positions the firm to capture a growing share of this opportunity.