The top three infrastructure funds are all in the global listed space, according to a review of the expanding universe of infrastructure investment options by research provider Zenith Investment Partners.

Of the 10 investment options broadly available to Australian investors in domestic listed, global listed and hybrid (direct and listed) infrastructure funds, the three stand outs were the Macquarie International Infrastructure Securities Fund, the Magellan Infrastructure Fund and the RARE Infrastructure Value Fund, the Zenith sector review said. Ben Davis, senior investment analyst at Zenith Investment Partners, said that global listed funds were more attractive because they offered a greater universe of potential securities – 150-200 in the global companies compared with 24 domestically. The global listed infrastructure market is $1.8 trillion compared with $70 billion locally, and thus Australian funds will be hit by capacity constraints much sooner, Davis said. Moreover, many Australian equity managers invest in domestic listed infrastructure, so global listed offers much greater diversification, he said. “There is more scope for future growth with overseas infrastructure. Australia has been a leader in the privatisation of infrastructure,” he said. “As the divestment of infrastructure assets by governments, telecommunications and media companies, airports and utilities gathers pace in the rest of the world, investors with the ability to invest globally will have access to a greater number of attractive opportunities.”