Global investors are showing more urgency in protecting their capital by allocating more funds to alternative assets over the next 12 months, as geopolitical risks continue to roil markets, according to an industry survey.
About 45 per cent of these investors plan to increase their allocation to private credit and 37 per cent intend to raise their allocation to private assets in the secondary market, London-based Coller Capital said in a report on Monday. The ratios increased from 37 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, six months ago.
Investors in the Asia-Pacific region showed the strongest interest in alternative investments, with 67 per cent planning to expand allocations to the asset class, it added. Appetite for “secondaries” – or private equity, credit and real assets in the secondary market – saw a marked increase, with 64 per cent of them looking to ramp up their bets versus 42 per cent in December.
Coller surveyed 110 global investors in private capital funds with US$1.9 trillion of assets under management from February 19 to April 14 for its biannual Global Private Capital Barometer report. The firm manages US$40 billion in private equity, credit and other fund vehicles.
“There’s a growing interest and conviction from Asia-Pacific investors in private markets amid increasing geopolitical tensions,” said William Yea, investment principal at Coller Capital, in an interview. Nearly two-thirds of were looking to boost their allocations in the coming years, he noted.
Geopolitical tensions and trade rifts have created a more uncertain backdrop for investing, with the Israel and Iran conflict driving up risks in addition to the US-China tariff war. Among Asia-Pacific investors, 64 per cent placed greater emphasis on this subject, compared with 44 per cent among their global peers, the survey showed.
