Matt Monach
Global equity markets have narrowed into one of the most concentrated regimes in modern history. A handful of AI‑exposed mega-cap stocks have been driving index performance and raising the question investors now ask openly: how sustainable is this?
Meanwhile, equities representing real assets still sit at close to 25‑year relative lows in performance terms, despite being the physical backbone of global growth. The FTSE Real Assets Industry Select Equity Index Series (RAISE) was purpose‑built in 2025 to assist investors who seek to address this imbalance in their portfolios.
Relative performance: FTSE RAISE index vs. FTSE Developed index
Launched in January 2026, the index is currently available in FTSE Developed, Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 versions. It reflects the performance of listed companies with tangible, scarce, irreplaceable assets such as energy systems, infrastructure networks, natural resources, land and property. These are real assets that have outlasted every technological cycle of the past century and will remain essential, no matter how the current AI supercycle evolves.
Why RAISE - The investment rationale
FTSE RAISE indices target companies whose value is rooted in real, hard, economically critical assets. These companies include:
- Natural Resource Owners - oil, metals, mining, forestry, water
- Regulated & Network Infrastructure - pipelines, railroads, utilities, ports
- Land & Property Owners - REITs, specialty property, large landholders
The indices intentionally exclude businesses whose valuations rely on intangible assets – such as software, semiconductor research and development, intellectual property licensing, royalties and associated services. As a result, RAISE indices behave differently from tech‑heavy global equity benchmarks.
Hedge AI - Diversify
History shows real asset sectors can outperform during major market regime shifts:
- Tech bust (2000s): commodities surged following the bursting of the tech/telecoms bubble and real assets outperformed for many years
- 2022: inflation and supply chain shocks drove real asset outperformance
- 2026: Middle East conflict and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices sharply higher, boosting demand for “old‑economy” real assets tied to energy, logistics and hard infrastructure
Diversification, commodity exposure and equity growth
RAISE indices also offer diversification potential: they reflect the performance of companies whose fundamentals remain relevant when other parts of the market become overheated or heavily concentrated.
Absolute performance: FTSE RAISE index, FTSE Developed index and FTSE Core CRB index
With monthly correlations of RAISE indices’ returns to a broad commodities index between 58% and 64% over the last 25 years, these indices capture commodity‑sensitive equity segments while maintaining the transparency and structure of a listed‑equity benchmark.
Since the post-pandemic return to a higher-inflation and higher interest rate environment, real asset sectors have also regained pricing power and income strength, enabling higher dividend payouts to investors: currently, the equities included in the RAISE indices offer roughly 200% the dividend yield of the global equity market (measured by the FTSE Developed index), compared to a historic dividend yield premium of around 50%.
Dividend yield ratio: FTSE RAISE index and FTSE Developed index
Rebalancing towards the real economy
In an equity market that has become increasingly dominated by AI‑driven growth narratives, many long‑term investors are seeking exposure to assets that remain essential to the global economy regardless of the technology cycle.
The FTSE Russell RAISE Index Series helps investors measure the performance of equities that represent the real economy: energy, infrastructure, resources and land. Indices within this series can help users hedge against AI concentration within traditional equity benchmarks, while offering a stable foundation for global equity allocation.
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