16.07.2025 – Articles
In a candid conversation at the British Emerging Manager Institute Summit 2025, Anthony Peters, Partner at Real Asset Investment Management (RAIM), shared insights into the opportunities and challenges of life as an emerging manager in the infrastructure and energy space.
Founded in late 2019, RAIM has invested more that €1bn of equity into European infrastructure and energy. “We’re focused on the lower middle market, which means smaller deals compared to traditional infrastructure,” Peters explained. “We look for assets we think are fundamentally mispriced versus risk and aim to outperform on that basis.”
Rather than launching a blind-pool fund, RAIM has built its business through single asset investments and SMAs. While this brings its own hurdles, particularly getting investors comfortable with deals on short timelines, Peters sees real upside. “You can select specific assets for your investors. The art is anticipating what they’ll want, given their existing portfolios and exposures.”
Peters acknowledged the rise of the independent sponsor model and the headwinds that come with it. “In infrastructure, the top four managers are taking 50% of the capital. That makes it harder for others to find the right LPs willing to work at your cadence and engage with what you’re doing,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean giving up. “If you can build strong relationships and show you’re doing the right things, that provides long-term value for everyone.”
Reflecting on the value of initiatives like the British Emerging Manager Institute, Peters highlighted a gap in the UK and European markets. “In the US, public pension plans have well-established emerging manager programs. They’re comfortable backing teams early, believing in long-term outperformance,” he said.
By contrast, Europe lags behind. “It’s still a nascent market here. But that’s an opportunity — for LPs, GP seeders, and investors willing to support early-stage managers.”
After six years of navigating the emerging manager world, Peters offered two pieces of advice:
And finally, a reality check: “Resilience is key. Be prepared for a lot of nos and doors slammed in your face, politely or not. Starting fresh is a risk for you and your clients. You’ve got to convince them you’ll deliver.”