Investing: Smart Global Infrastructure Plays

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One advantage for tower owners such as American Tower (AMT) is that they have room to increase capacity utilization without any extra costs. "They've already made the sunk costs, so a lot of those [additional] revenues are falling right to the bottom line," says Becker.

Dzierwa plays the telecom theme by owning Vivo Participacoes (VIV), a Brazilian cellular telecommunications provider that offers a variety of services, including direct access to the Internet through data cards, multimedia message service, and an environment through which users can download applications on their wireless devices.

Dzierwa also likes Mexico-based Grupo Aeroportuario Del Sureste (ASR), which owns and operates nine airports near Cancun. Hotel occupancy rates in the larger Riviera Maya, which includes Cancun, dropped to 20% during the swine flu scare earlier this year but had rebounded by the summer to over 70% in some hotels that slashed their prices, he says. The fewer tourists, the less money airports earn in their duty-free shops, and the greater the potential for airlines to consider cutting flights to the area over the longer term.

Emerging Markets

After the global economy returns to a more normal growth pattern, "we'll go where we believe the money will be spent," deciding on holdings on a company-specific basis, says Dzierwa.

By that accounting, investors probably should be ready to beef up their exposure to regions outside North America. Becker expects about $40 trillion to be spent worldwide on infrastructure projects over the next 20 years, of which the U.S. should account for roughly $7 trillion. U.S. stocks account for 26% of Cohen & Steers' fund, with 2% in Canada and the rest outside North America.

Owning stocks in emerging markets is less worrisome than a few years ago given how much more stable the governments in these countries appear to be, says Duitz. He steers clear of Russia, but feels comfortable with the lower level of political risk he sees in China and Brazil. The key to limiting risk when investing in emerging markets is to have a diversified position, so your risk is spread out, he says.

Bogoslaw is a reporter for BusinessWeek's Investing channel.

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