iShares ETFs cover a broad range of asset classes, risk profiles and investment outcomes. To understand the appropriateness of this fund for your investment objective, please visit our product webpage.
Find out more about iShares Core FTSE Global Infrastructure (AUD Hedged) ETF:
https://www.blackrock.com/au/products/331650/
This product is likely to be appropriate for a consumer:
• who is seeking capital growth and/or income distribution
• using the product for a core component of their portfolio or less
• with a minimum investment timeframe of 5 years, and
• with a medium to high risk/return profile
Find out more about iShares Core FTSE Global Property Ex Australia (AUD Hedged) ETF:
https://www.blackrock.com/au/products/331647/
This product is likely to be appropriate for a consumer:
• who is seeking capital growth and/or income distribution
• using the product for a core component of their portfolio or less
• with a minimum investment timeframe of 5 years, and
• with a medium to high risk/return profile
Find out more about BlackRock Global Listed Infrastructure Fund:
https://www.blackrock.com/au/products/315773/
This product is likely to be appropriate for a consumer:
• seeking capital growth
• using the product for a core component of their portfolio or less
• with a minimum investment timeframe of 5 years
• with a medium to high risk/return profile, and
• who is unlikely to need access to their capital for up to one week from a request
While it may be widely considered an alternative asset, infrastructure is increasingly becoming a core component of the modern investment portfolio. Recent data indicates that around 60% of global investors are expected to have an allocation to infrastructure in their portfolio by 2030.2
Real asset ETFs can give investors access to assets that have historically had high barriers to entry. They also offer the added liquidity and transparency associated with publicly traded stocks. Over the past two decades, infrastructure has generated an average 3% outperformance versus global equities during quarters where equity performance was negative.3
Why now?
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01
A new market regime is in action
We are in a regime characterised by greater macroeconomic and market volatility. The four decades of steady growth and inflation that characterised the pre-COVID period are over, and we expect central banks to be restricted in how much they can cut rates amid structurally ‘higher for longer’ inflation.
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02
Getting granular
The old “set and forget” 60/40 portfolio construction approach is unlikely to deliver results as it did in the past. This stresses the need to construct more granular core portfolios, which will allow investors to be more nimble and quickly respond to market changes.
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03
Now is the time
Against the current market backdrop4, investors may look to reposition and strengthen portfolio resilience. With market volatility and stretched valuations top of mind for investors, global infrastructure and property can help navigate today’s turbulence while capturing long-term structural growth opportunities.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure refers to the physical and organisational systems that support a country's economy and society. It covers sectors such as energy (power generation), transportation (toll roads and airports), communication networks, utilities (gas, water and waste), and social infrastructure (schools and hospitals) that are critical to everyday living.
It is important to distinguish between two broad types of infrastructure: core and value-added. Core infrastructure refers to the stable and consistent income-producing end of the spectrum, whereas value-added infrastructure performance is based on capital appreciation realised on the sale of the asset and is generally characterised as riskier in nature.
Core infrastructure, as defined by FTSE Russell, focuses on activities in transportation, energy and telecommunication, that act as the foundation of developed market economies.
Source: FTSE Russell, August 2024.
Property
Listed real estate represents companies engaged in real estate investment, development, and other real estate related services. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are a company that owns, operates or finances income-producing real estate such as apartments, shopping centres, offices, hotels and warehouses, allowing investors to invest in the property sector without the risk of purchasing properties directly.
The most common real estate sectors include office, residential, industrial & logistics and retail. There are numerous other secondary sectors including hospitality, self-storage, student accommodation, retirement, and other special purpose buildings.
Resilience amid high inflation
Infrastructure has proven resilient amid times of high inflation. Many infrastructure assets are contractually linked to inflation through regulations, contracts or concession agreement that often include price adjustment mechanisms to pass inflationary prices through to the end consumer.5
While inflation is gradually cooling versus the immediate post-pandemic period, we expect inflation to settle at a structurally higher level due to persistently large government deficits, meaning adding infrastructure to your portfolio long-term could provide useful protection.
Natural inflation-hedge and protection
Real estate rental cashflows offer a natural inflation-hedge and there is protection through the replacement cost mechanism. With many leases being tied to inflation, rental income and the value of real estate tends to increase in response to rising inflation. The increase in the cost of replacing existing assets in the market, as higher construction costs tend also to increase with inflation, limits new supply further and contributes to elevated rents and housing prices.
Source: BlackRock, January 2026. For illustrative purposes only.
Stable cash flows
Infrastructure can provide stable cash flows. For example, from inception (16 May 2023) to 31 December 2025, the iShares Core FTSE Global Infrastructure (AUD Hedged) ETF (GLIN) has generated an annualised distribution return of 2.91%, versus 1.85% for the iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and 2.18% for the iShares Global 100 ETF (IOO).6
Infrastructure and Real Estate Funds
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