Ropes & Gray was proud to sponsor Kayo’s 9th Annual Real Estate Summit in Washington, D.C., on June 24–25, 2026. Partners Sally Davis and Isabel Dische and counsel Effie George Floyd each moderated panels during the two-day program, while several other lawyers on our real estate team attended. These are some of the themes and conversations that have stayed with us since.
Data Centers Are Reshaping the Definition of “Real Estate”
One of the most engaging discussions focused on a deceptively simple question: Are data centers real estate or infrastructure? Panelists explored whether traditional real estate categories—office, retail, residential, and industrial—are evolving into a broader framework that better reflects technology- and power-intensive assets such as data centers and logistics facilities.
The answer has meaningful implications for how limited partners allocate capital and how fund managers position their strategies. If data centers sit in real estate, they compete for allocation alongside traditional property types and may be valued primarily on location and occupancy; if they are categorized as infrastructure, they are underwritten more like utilities, with longer hold periods, contracted revenue streams, and a focus on power delivery and capacity rather than square footage. For CIOs with separate real estate and infrastructure teams, the classification question also raises the practical issue of which team “owns” the asset to avoid internal conflicts.
The Convergence of Real Assets Continues
A recurring theme was the increasing overlap between real estate, infrastructure, and other real assets. Assets like last-mile distribution centers, cold storage facilities, and powered logistics hubs depend on significant infrastructure investments, making the traditional dividing lines feel increasingly outdated.
An important question for the industry is whether institutional investors will move toward unified “real assets” allocations or continue to maintain specialized investment strategies despite the growing convergence.
High Interest Rates Are Becoming Part of the Baseline
Rather than debating where interest rates are headed next, many participants emphasized that today’s rate environment has largely been incorporated into underwriting assumptions.
Several speakers suggested that investors are placing less emphasis on predicting future rate movements and more on underwriting across a range of potential scenarios. That shift reflects a broader focus on resilience and disciplined investment planning.
Emerging Asset Classes Are Drawing Increased Attention
Beyond data centers, several sectors stood out as areas of growing investor interest. Manufactured housing was cited for its resilience across market cycles, senior housing continues to benefit from long-term demographic trends, and pharmaceutical cold storage is seeing increased demand as healthcare supply chains evolve.
These sectors reflect how demographic, technological, and healthcare trends are creating new investment opportunities across real assets.
AI Investment Is Reshaping Capital Allocation—and Regulation
The scale of investment flowing into AI infrastructure was another major topic. Panelists observed that capital directed toward AI-related projects is influencing investment decisions across the broader real assets market.
The discussion also touched on the growing importance of AI regulation. As policy frameworks develop, regulatory considerations are expected to play an increasingly significant role in investment decisions and transaction activity.
Investor Preferences Are Beginning to Diverge
Participants noted a divergence between U.S. and international investors. Domestic investors are showing greater interest in direct investment opportunities, while many international investors are increasingly favoring structures such as separately managed accounts, fund-of-funds vehicles, and other managed investment solutions.
These evolving preferences are likely to influence how fund sponsors structure products and engage with different investor bases.
The discussions were thoughtful, practical, and forward-looking—and we’re looking forward to seeing how these themes continue to shape the market in the months ahead. Contact us at [email protected] if you would like more information about our real estate practice.
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