September 02, 2008 at 11:00 am by Tom Lydon
Maintaining highways and cleaning up roadkill may not sound profitable, yet banks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) think they are worthy investments.
The fact is, we need those things and more… there is a tidal wave of infrastructure projects that need to be undertaken not only in the United States, but overseas as well, reports Jenny Anderson For The New York Times. An estimated $250 billion has been collected by banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and so on.
Federal, state and local governments are all under growing deficits, so the idea of privatizing infrastructure is looking enticing. Budget gaps are starting to make public resistance to private financing less futile. In fact, until recently, the use of private funds to build and manage large scale infrastructure was dismissed, because the cities and towns could raise taxes and user fees or turn to the muni-bond market.
Labor unions are even backing private financing, as investment funds stand to reap major rewards from the current infrastructure problem that is turning into a crisis.
ETFs that could help build up our cities:
Tags: GII, IGF, Infrastructure
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