Nuveen’s Don Dimitrievich ($1.4T firm, $40B infrastructure) calls this a “Goldilocks moment” and breaks down why $700 billion in data center capex is reshaping capital markets. Laurence Gottlieb (Fundamental Advisors, $8B in solar lending) shares hard-won lessons from 18 years in community assets. Ryan Lewis (I Squared, $60B) explains why infrastructure “isn’t a tourist asset class.” And Brian Neale (CIO, University of Nebraska Foundation) reveals how allocators are rethinking real assets after Princeton cut return assumptions from 10% to 8%.

From AI compute and onshoring to the wealth channel’s growing pains — this panel covers where the capital is flowing and what can go wrong.

Key topics:

  • The “Goldilocks moment”: AI, onshoring, and electrification
  • $700B hyperscaler capex — nearly as large as US consumer spending
  • One semiconductor fab = power needs of NH + VT combined
  • Infrastructure credit as a diversifier from direct lending
  • Why “semi liquid doesn’t make it your liquidity bucket”
  • Manager selection: “This isn’t a tourist asset class”
  • Princeton cutting return assumptions: what it signals

Speakers:

  • Don Dimitrievich, Senior MD & Portfolio Manager, Nuveen
  • Laurence Gottlieb, Chairman & CEO, Fundamental Advisors
  • Ryan Lewis, CFA, CAIA, MD, I Squared Capital
  • Brian T. Neale, CIO, University of Nebraska Foundation
  • Michael Patanella, Managing Partner, US Asset Management, Grant Thornton (Moderator)

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction & panelist backgrounds
2:49 “This is a Goldilocks moment for our asset class”
3:57 $700B data center investment — almost as large as US consumer spending
4:26 One semiconductor facility = power of NH + VT combined
5:55 Infrastructure as a diversifier from direct lending stress
7:28 Energy transition and the long-tenured opportunity
9:16 How allocators are structuring infrastructure exposure
11:07 Princeton cutting returns from 10% to 8% — what it means
13:51 “Ten years from now, people will think you’re an overnight success”
17:06 The broadening investor base: pensions, sovereigns, wealth
18:59 Infrastructure as the “Goldilocks asset class” — between equity and credit
20:07 What investors need to get right over the next 12-24 months
22:06 “Semi liquid doesn’t make it your liquidity bucket”
23:44 “Infrastructure isn’t a tourist asset class”
26:58 Manager selection: “It’s a people business”

Recorded at Global Alts Miami 2026 | Presented by iConnections