Regions

PERE’s flagship Global Investor 100 ranking has swelled to a record high in aggregate allocations, but its growth was unsupported by any meaningful increase in activity.

Demand remains exceptionally strong, but the industry’s rapid expansion is creating new constraints around power, land, labor and community acceptance.

Scarce power, rising AI workloads and evolving technology are reshaping where data centers get built and how they are financed, say Principal Asset Management’s Casey Miller and Sebastian Dooley.

As markets and student flows fragment, investors are zeroing in on schools and geographies with durable demand.

Data centers often steal the headlines, but digital infrastructure is a broader asset class, says Matteo Colombo, head of digital infrastructure investments at L&G.

As data centers scale in size and complexity, hyperscalers are relying more on investors and managers with the capital and expertise needed to deliver projects, says Blue Owl’s Alexey Teplukhin.

PEI Group data shows a sector gaining increased attention amid rising demand.

Durable demand supports sector growth, but widening dispersion is placing a premium on market selection, disciplined underwriting and experienced operators, says Mike Gordon, global CIO – real estate at Harrison Street Asset Management.

Rising construction costs are forcing developers to balance project viability with what students can realistically afford.

Inside: How low returns have investors digging into fund expenses; The 2026 Global Investor 100 – our ranking of private real estate’s largest allocators; Why flexibility is moving to the forefront for investors; A European debt roundtable; And much more…