The mid-market advantage: Higher returns, easier exits?

This episode is sponsored by Fengate Asset Management and Ridgewood Infrastructure

Mid‑market infrastructure has quietly become one of the sector’s strongest performers, generating a 10‑year median net return of 12.3 percent and emerging as a melting pot for themes ranging from the energy transition to digital infrastructure.

In this episode, Fengate Asset Management managing director Mac Bell and Ridgewood Infrastructure partner Sam Lissner unpack why the mid‑market continues to outperform, even as fundraising slows and macro uncertainty persists.

They explain how founder‑owned businesses, operational intensity and disciplined leverage can create a competitive advantage; where value creation is strongest across data centres, US water utilities and transportation assets; and why build‑to‑core and optimise‑to‑core strategies remain central to generating predictable, core‑ready cashflows. With political winds shifting and demand for power, logistics and essential services rising, Bell and Lissner outline how mid‑market investors are navigating the cycle and why differentiated exposures can still attract LP capital.