The Awards: IPE Real Assets Infrastructure & Natural Capital Global Conference & Awards 2024

Platinum	Gold
Energy Transition	Digital Infrastructure
This category is aimed at investors that have been contributing significantly to efforts to move from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy. This can include investing directly in renewables and energy storage, as well as other investments that support energy transition, including technology and innovation, and the decarbonisation of others forms of infrastructure and the built environment. Ideally, you should show: how you structure your energy transition investments how your energy transition investments complement your other assets and support your long-term objectives the size of your mandates and how and who manages them examples of recent deals or concepts how you gain exposure to relevant assets how you monitor and report on your performance and progress in relation to targets the risks associated with energy transition investments and how you manage them	This category is aimed at investors that have built up significant investments in fibre networks, data centres, cell towers and other forms of digital infrastructure. Ideally, for this award, the judges would be keen to see: a clear outline of your approach to your digital infrastructure investments how your digital infrastructure portfolios enhance and complement your overall long-term objectives and other asset classes how you seek exposure and details of mandates, recent deals and holdings how you manage the risks associated with digital infrastructure investments any minimum or maximum investment value
ESG/Sustainability	Direct Strategy
The principles of ESG are embedded in real assets and infrastructure projects that are increasingly attractive to the long-term investment strategies of institutional investors. Such projects underpin communities and economies locally, nationally and regionally by job creation and delivering essential services. This extends to managing climate change and carbon emission reduction. Key sectors this applies to include environmentally sustainable and efficient energy production, such as windfarms and biomass plants, energy transition, carbon-friendly transportation and agriculture and forestry. For pension funds and other institutional investors, real assets and infrastructure offer stable long-term investments and cashflows. For this category, the judges will ideally want to see: a clear outline of your approach to sustainable and green infrastructure and real assets investments how your ESG-oriented real assets and infrastructure portfolios enhance and complement your overall long-term objectives and other asset classes how you seek exposure and details of mandates, recent deals and holdings how you manage the risks associated with real assets and infrastructure investments	This award is aimed at larger investors that have the resources, size and capacity to pursue more direct investment strategies to build exposure to real assets and infrastructure markets and build economies of scale in multiple regions and countries. This is often in partnership with like-minded investors or industry partners. In addition to how you build and manage partnerships, the judges will be keen to see how you research and invest in target assets and who manages them both financially and operationally. You should ideally: document clearly the benefits of your real assets and infrastructure strategy any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level include examples of your portfolio, especially deals and activity any minimum or maximum investment values the types and sectors you prefer sourcing and building relationships with partners explain how your real assets and infrastructure strategy supports your long-term objectives and complements your overall portfolio outline how you manage the risks that your strategy incurs
Natural Capital	Indirect Strategy
Natural capital represents increasingly attractive investment propositions for institutional investors, as it offers sustainable and carbon reduction management, stable long-term returns and acts as a diversifying asset. Typical assets include forestry, agriculture, oil and gas, precious metals, minerals and base metals. Forestry and agriculture also play a significant role in an impact investment strategy. Ideally, for this award, the judges would be keen to see: a clear outline of your approach to your natural capital investments how your natural capital and resources portfolios enhance and complement your overall long-term objectives and other asset classes how you seek exposure and details of mandates, recent deals and holdings how you manage the risks associated with natural capital investments any minimum or maximum investment value	This category is aimed at smaller to medium-sized investors that do not have the resources or size to pursue direct investment strategies to build exposure to real assets and infrastructure markets and build economies of scale. An indirect strategy can be described simply as a means of investing via unlisted funds and other pooled or mutual investment vehicles. Your entry should provide full details of your indirect strategy, how you construct your mandates and who manages them. Explicitly, the judges will be keen to know: any restrictions either at institutional or regulatory level how you seek exposure and details of mandates, recent deals and holdings the types and sectors you prefer any minimum or maximum investment value how an indirect strategy supports your long-term objectives and complements your overall portfolio how you manage the risks that indirect investments incur
Social Infrastructure	Transport
This category is aimed at investors that have built up significant investments in housing, healthcare, hospitals, schools and other forms of social infrastructure. The category can include social-impact considerations as well as financial objectives. Ideally, for this award, the judges would be keen to see: a clear outline of your approach to your social infrastructure investments how your social infrastructure portfolios enhance and complement your overall long-term objectives and other asset classes how you seek exposure and details of mandates, recent deals and holdings how you manage the risks associated with social infrastructure investments any minimum or maximum investment value	This category is aimed at investors that have built up significant investments in toll roads, airports, ports, rail and rolling stock. Shipping and aircraft leasing can also be considered. Inclusion of ESG and net-zero considerations would be welcomed. Ideally, for this award, the judges would be keen to see: a clear outline of your approach to your transport investments how your transport portfolios enhance and complement your overall long-term objectives and other asset classes how you seek exposure and details of mandates, recent deals and holdings how you manage the risks associated with transport investments how you incorporate ESG and net-zero considerations and criteria any minimum or maximum investment value

We use a streamlined but sophisticated online entry system that is divided into five parts.

The first is simply for the category and name of the entrant.
The second collects fundamental data such as the size of your assets and performance figures.
The third is a short text based area known as the Overview and Investment Strategy. This is a 350 - 450 optimum word count text area that asks you to provide a detailed summary of your institution's history, overall objectives and investment strategy. This is a mandatory response to provide the judges with key information about your institution. Bullet points are acceptable but please ensure they contain enough information to give the judges a solid understanding of your organisation.
The fourth part is a longer text based area with an optimum range of 750 - 850 words for your regional entry and any themed awards you wish to take part in.
The fifth is to upload your logo and any other supporting attachments such as graphs and performance tables.

Once the entries are submitted, we invite the judges to review them using the same online system. This involves a 20-point score matrix and follow-up debates, if need be, to declare the winner in each category.