Real Estate & Infrastructure

Broadly defined, real estate comprises land and buildings. Real estate investments involve developed land, including commercial and industrial real estate and residential real estate. Real estate has some unique features, including heterogeneity (no two properties are identical), long lives, and fixed geographical or physical location. 

Raw land and less developed land used in agriculture and forestry are categorized as natural resource investments, while infrastructure involves land, buildings, and other fixed assets developed by public entities or public–private partnerships for economic use. Investments in real estate and infrastructure are included in many portfolios because they tend to exhibit low correlations with traditional asset classes and provide risk and return combinations across a broad spectrum. Here, as in other alternative assets, investors need specialized knowledge in selecting, acquiring, managing, and divesting these assets.