Despite recent market strength which has seen the Australian market back close to all-time highs, and in particular the recovery in the prices of some of the hardest hit tech and growth stocks, we remain firmly of the view that valuation ultimately determines the direction of share prices.

Listed infrastructure investors must pay attention to political lobbying disclosures and policies when researching environmental and social factors, especially in light of E, S, and G linkages. The governance pillar is the bedrock of all ESG and sustainability progress, and, as past controversies have shown, a company’s environmental and social attributes can become irrelevant when things go wrong.

We believe 2023 will be a challenging year with several areas potentially surprising investors, namely uncertainty around corporate earnings, the duration of elevated commodity prices and a possible reversal of US stock market outperformance.

As specialist infrastructure investors, the Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure team identifies and assesses problems such as the energy trilemma, then invests in companies it believes are providing solutions such as the UK-listed SSE PLC.

Matt Griffin, Co-Portfolio Manager, Australian Small Companies, considers issues affecting lithium for the small cap investor and why the team is waiting for the right entry point.

A degree of complacency as we enter 2023 may see some investors surprised by potential features of the year ahead, including uncertainty around corporate earnings and elevated commodity prices continuing longer than expected, according to Maple-Brown Abbott. Chief investment officer Garth Rossler said investors waiting for signs that monetary tightening had peaked to add to equity positions reflecting the successes of the past decade could be disappointed.

Global listed infrastructure companies will be key to helping the world reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, and many are achieving very strong results in reducing their emissions, says Andrew Maple-Brown, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure. However, there are some that still have considerable work to do to achieve their ambitions. Active investors have a role to play through engagement, scrutiny and constructive encouragement.

Methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, is a focus of the Global Listed Infrastructure team’s research and engagements with companies on decarbonisation. We believe companies have an imperative to manage methane emissions to mitigate its warming effects. Otherwise, from our perspective, any switch from coal to natural gas does not result in a meaningful net benefit for the environment.

Listed vs unlisted infrastructure through the lens of UK water utilities. We explore the exciting investment opportunities in the UK listed and unlisted water utilities infrastructure market.