Data centres aren't sexy but essential and increasingly lucrative
In this episode of Money Hacks, a podcast by The Business Times hosted by Howie Lim, we find out what's driving the data centre boom and how individuals can get a piece of the pie.
Daphne Tan from CMC Markets and Shun Endo from CBRE unpack the landscape, including how listed Reits especially those with 'hyperscaler' tenants like Google or Microsoft offer a way in, why modular designs are keeping things future-proof, and what to watch when it comes to power, scalability, and resilience.
Why listen?
Because data centres are the quiet overachievers of tech infrastructure
Steady demand, long leases, and capital-sticky tenants make them a surprisingly defensive play.
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Because investing doesn't always mean betting on the next app
Data centres are how the internet stays on. Reits let you invest in the plumbing not just the party.
Because risks exist—but they're being managed smartly
Think disaster planning, power redundancy, and upgrades without full rebuilds.
Because with AI exploding, someone's got to house the servers
And chances are, it's one of the players mentioned in this episode.
Money Hacks is the flagship personal finance podcast from The Business Times, hosted by Howie Lim. You can listen to past episodes including recent takes on gold, ETFs, and long-term investing on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at bt.sg/podcasts.
Have feedback or episode ideas? Drop the team a note at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Written and hosted by: Howie Lim (howielim@sph.com.sg)
With Daphne Tan, head of business development, CMC Markets and Shun Endo, head of data centre, capital markets, Asia Pacific, CBRE
Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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'There will be friction in that change… Growth is also slowing on a global basis, and that creates pockets for disruption within global markets and equities, which creates more volatility.' Morningstar research found that the poor performance of the 60/40 portfolio in 2022 was due to a painful bear market in bonds that actually began around 2020. In its analysis of how the 60/40 portfolio performed over 150 years, it found that the crash of the 2020s was the only one where the decline of the 60/40 portfolio was more painful than that of an all-stock portfolio. That is, while the deepest drawdown of the 60/40 portfolio was shallower than the all-equity portfolio, it has taken the 60/40 portfolio longer to recover. In the 2020s, the downturn in equities – brought on by the Ukraine war, higher inflation and supply shortages – coincided with a bear market in bonds. 'While the stock market recovered to its previous high in September 2024, the bond market has not yet fully emerged from underwater. This decline was so severe that it prevented the 60/40 portfolio from returning to its previous high until June 2025 – marking the only time in the past 150 years that the 60/40 portfolio experienced more pain than the stock market,' it said. 'Nonetheless, even in this once-in-150-years bond bear market, the depth of the decline experienced by a 60/40 portfolio was less than that of either the stock market or the bond market alone.' Pimco's Browne argued that the starting point of bond yields is key for an investor. 'I don't think fixed income as a risk diversifier is dead. There's real potential for fixed income to continue to deliver not only on income return but also diversification,' she noted. 'In 2020 inflation ran very high, and the starting points of yields were exceptionally low in a negative or zero-rate environment. But where we are today is quite different. The starting point of yields today provides a really nice cushion to protect portfolios in risk-off events, with 10-year yields exceeding 4 per cent. Yields tend to be very highly correlated with the expected return of the asset over the next five years.' Caution on private credit What about private credit as a bond proxy? Despite an attractive yield, it is not a panacea for returns or lower risk. There is also reason for caution when almost every private banker or sales person trots out private debt offerings. According to an article in the Financial Times, the GIC itself is cautious as the asset class is untested in a major credit default cycle. GIC chief investment officer Bryan Yeo reportedly said the investment company is 'raising the bar in terms of further deployment in the private credit space', adding: 'We're now at a part of the cycle where we feel that spreads are a lot tighter, and valuations are also higher.' 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