Abrdn's Duitz: Recessionary pressure is good for infrastructure, dividend plays

Josh Duitz, deputy head of global equities at Abrdn -- portfolio manager for Abrdn Global Infrastructure Income and two of the firm's dynamic dividend funds -- says that the macro drivers for infrastructure -- globalization, upgrades and repairs, urbanization and increased demand -- coupled with current inflationary pressures have created an environment that is solid for recession-resistant infrastructure stocks. Meanwhile, with rising interest rates pushing demand higher, dividend stocks have been outperforming as well, and are likely to continue to remain in the market's sweet spot until the economy rebounds and convinces the public that it wants to focus again on growth rather than looking at total return. Duitz says that among dividend plays, he is most interested right now in sectors that can raise revenue to keep pace or stay ahead of inflation, so that they are not squeezed by the macro picture, which means the most-fertile hunting grounds now tend to be among health care, real estate, materials, industrials, utilities and consumer-staples companies.