The Chinese insurance giant is adding alternative investments in real assets to enhance portfolio resilience. It is optimistic about China’s $12.5 billion public REITs market, where it is both asset owner and investor.
Real estate funds likely to be squeezed as the commercial real estate market may face ‘double whammy’ of lower occupancy and higher interest rates, family office investors and other asset allocators say.
As the global economy gears up for higher rates for longer, certain alternative asset classes are coming in play with institutions, according to the investment arms of Ping An and Manulife.
Institutional investors are increasingly looking to real assets for sustainability and capital preservation, although difficulty finding suitable opportunities is seen as an impediment.
New Zealand’s sovereign fund is on the lookout for investment opportunities in global property despite sharp falls in investor allocations to the sector in Asia.
Assets providing a steady stream of income is gaining attraction both in public and private markets, as the current market turmoil nudges insurers to reassess their allocation strategy, insurance executives discussed at AsianInvestor’s Insurance Investment Briefing in Hong Kong.
The state pension fund joins ESG benchmark as the first Japanese infrastructure investor member, supplementing its existing efforts within real estate investments.
Asia-Pacific asset owners have lost interest in private equity, although alternative asset allocations, in general, have increased from 15.3% to 21.5% over a six-month period, according to AsianInvestor’s most recent survey.
The life insurer has a diversified hedging toolbox ranging from real assets to derivatives. These tools provide long-term, non-guaranteed benefits to policyholders as inflation, or even stagflation, is now looming.