Asset Allocation

As risky assets (e.g., stocks) fluctuate in value, the value of a portfolio containing them may change, as may their allocation relative to the safe assets (e.g., bills) within the portfolio. One must decide how to rebalance the portfolio in response to such changes. Dynamic strategies are explicit rules for doing so. Different strategies will produce different risk and return characteristics. Buy-and-hold strategies are "do nothing" strategies. They have a minimum return proportional to the amount allocated to bills and an upside proportional to the amount allocated to stocks.

Infrastructure as a new asset class is said to have several distinct and attractive investment characteristics. This article reviews concepts, market developments and empirical evidence on the risk-return and cash flow profile, and the potential for diversification and inflation protection in investor portfolios. Furthermore, a new, global analysis of the historical performance of infrastructure funds is undertaken. There is no proper financial theory to back the proposition of infrastructure as a separate asset class.