The traditional asset class demarcations between real estate, private equity and infrastructure are beginning to blur as institutional allocators adopt a total portfolio approach (TPA) to evaluate opportunities across private markets.
In a discussion on asset allocation trends at the IPE Real Assets Infrastructure & Natural Capital Global Conference & Awards 2026 in Munich, panel members discussed how flexible capital allocation frameworks and cross-asset class competition are shifting how institutional capital is deployed.
Katya Romashkan, portfolio manager of infrastructure at Aware Super, explained how the Australian superannuation fund has implemented this model across its private markets division. While Aware Super maintains dedicated private equity, property and infrastructure teams out of its London office, the fund has introduced a flexible pot of capital that sits outside standard asset class buckets.
“All three of these [asset classes] could compete for the capital,” Romashkan said, with Aware Super “judging deals from a risk-return perspective to see where that small pot of capital can go to which asset class”.
Such approaches allow institutional investors to navigate gr...