The strategy of the Fund is to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of best-in-class, next generation real estate and infrastructure companies that are listed in developed markets. These companies are likely to benefit from the digitalisation of economies, changing the way we work, live and play.

The Fund currently invests in 31 listed companies operating at the intersection of real estate and technology. These companies own physical assets that are vital to the functioning of the digital economy and are active across four specialist sub-sectors: logistics (47.6% portfolio weight), data centres (25.5%), mobile communication towers (21.5%), and networks (2.6%).

Over the course of the month, the NAV of the Fund increased by 8.3% (C Acc GBP). Since launch, the NAV has increased by 8.7% (C Acc GBP), compared to a rise of 18.6% for the global real estate index*.

Markets rebounded in April, with U.S. equity markets staging a powerful resurgence, despite an increasingly complex geopolitical backdrop. Despite this, tensions between the US and Iran continued to dominate headlines as disruptions continued in the Strait of Hormuz and Brent crude was pushing above $110 per barrel by month-end. Intermittent ceasefire efforts and diplomatic overtures continued to break down. Meanwhile global equities rallied, driven primarily by a rotation back into AI stocks, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting all-time highs.

All sub sectors delivered positive returns during the month. The data centres and cell towers sub-sectors performed the best, up by 10.7% and 10.4% respectively. Logistics returned 5.9% and networks were up 4.4%.

In the data centres sub-sector, NEXTDC (portfolio weight 5.5%), an Australian data centre developer, performed well in April after announcing a 250 MW contract win for a new data centre in Sydney. This comes four months after NEXTDC received planning permission for the site. The pre-let increases the company’s contracted utilisation by 60% to 667 MW and it also increases pro-forma contracted EBITDA to more than AUD $1 billion. To help fund this development, NEXTDC raised AUD $1.5 billion via a rights issue in April, which the Fund participated in. The raise was priced at a 10% discount to the undisturbed share price and will increase NEXTDC’s share count by almost 20%. The stock ended the month 28% higher.

Other companies in the Fund’s portfolio also reported healthy results for Q1-26, including Prologis (portfolio weight 6.8%) and Digital Realty (portfolio weight 5.3%). Prologis announced core funds from operations (FFO) per share growth of 5.6% and dividend per share growth of 5.9%, along with record leasing volume of 67 million square feet. Cash releasing spreads also remained healthy at 17%. On the back of these results, management raised guidance for 2026. Digital Realty’s core FFO per share grew 15.2% thanks to strong leasing activity, with the company signing $324 million of > 1 MW leases (including a 200 MW lease in Charlotte, North Carolina, the single largest lease in the company’s history) and $98 million of 0-1 MW leases (including interconnections), which was also a record. Like Prologis, Digital Realty raised guidance for 2026. Andy Power, Digital Realty’s CEO, said of the announcement, “We are swiftly advancing hyperscale AI-oriented capacity in the US, growing our connectivity-rich portfolio across key global markets, and broadening our capital base to prudently extend Digital Realty’s runway for growth”.

The Investment Manager sold its position in Dream Industrial during April, with the proceeds redeployed into more attractive investment opportunities elsewhere in the portfolio.

Overall, the Fund Manager maintains a positive outlook on the digital infrastructure sector, primarily due to the strong performance of underlying portfolio assets. As such, the digital infrastructure sector remains a key investment area for any investors seeking long-term returns.

*MSCI World IMI Core Real Estate IMI GBP