Justin Ong and Darren Lim, PricewaterhouseCoopers (Singapore)
Asia has experienced rapid growth in alternative investments in recent years, fuelled by investorsf search for increased alpha in emerging markets and by institutional players broadening their investment horizons to diversify geographical risk. Assets allocated to hedge funds, private equity and, increasingly, real estate and infrastructure funds have seen significant growth. This has led to alternative assets starting to become part of the investment mainstream.
But what are investor expectations in Asia for alternative investments? How are investible assets likely to be allocated across the different categories, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, infrastructure and others? And – once an investor decides on asset allocation – is performance all that matters? Almost inevitably, the answer to the last question is a firm enof, especially when investors and investment providers are dealing with a wider spectrum of sophisticated investment products in an increasingly litigious environment. Risk management, controls and transparency are fast becoming buzz words and perhaps more will be more so, in time to come.
