When it comes to diversifying their portfolios with alternative investments, investors remain proactive and their confidence remains robust, according to a report published last week by Preqin, the alternative assets data and intelligence provider.
Investors, particularly pension funds, have shown a strong tendency over the past decade to move away from traditional public equities and bonds into alternative strategies in order to create portfolios with better risk/return profiles. At least 80% of investors in private equity, hedge funds, real estate and infrastructure said in an April survey that they planned to maintain or increase their allocations throughout 2013.
Half of those surveyed had a proactive approach to sourcing alternative asset fund investments, and a further 31% had adopted a mixture of proactive and passive approaches.
Other key findings in the report:
* 64% of investors had an internal investment team that proactively sourced and examined alternative asset fund investments
* 67% had two or more investment-focused employees dedicated to alternative assets
* 59% of the institutional investors that invest in private equity said they would maintain their level of exposure throughout 2013, and 27% said they would increase their allocation