Besides broad points about rates, central banks and economic growth, the survey asked respondents about their approach to private markets – showing that this remains a hot area.

Asia-Pacific investors polled by Schroders say the impact of central bank interest rates and the chances of an economic downturn are more important than the raft of elections this year, culminating in the 5 November US poll next week.

The survey, covering almost 800 investors in APAC amongst 2,830 globally, said that 71 per cent gave their main concern as central bank policy, followed by high interest rates (70 per cent) and a potential economic downturn (68 per cent).

Investors in Asia Pacific, along with their global counterparts, focus on issues such as “deglobalisation,” disruption and decarbonisation. They are raising exposure to global equities and private equity. The figures come from this year’s Schroders Global Investor Insights Survey. The research was carried out by CoreData Research via an extensive global survey during June and July 2024. The 2,830 respondents were spilt as follows: 591 from North America, 990 from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 284 from the United Kingdom, 795 in Asia Pacific, and 170 from Central and South America.

APAC investors said alliances on politics and trade (50 per cent compared with 44 per cent globally), as well as high levels of government borrowing (31 per cent vs 35 per cent global), would most likely impact their investment positioning.

Some 61 per cent of investors in APAC said they are confident or very confident of achieving their return expectations for the next one to two years, a similar percentage to their global peers.

“The most important election is still ahead of us with Americans heading to the polls next week. However, it is crucial to remember that politics tends to play out in months and years, rather than days and this is what we have remained focused on; keeping it simple,” Johanna Kyrklund, chief investment officer, Schroders, said. “The results of this survey also clearly show the tension facing central banks and policy makers as almost as many respondents are as concerned about inflation risk as they are about high interest rates. Furthermore, high public debt loads are a key concern in many major economies.”

Private markets
Investment in private markets continues to grow, with 82 per cent of APAC investors already investing in private markets or having plans to do so in the next one to two years, similar to that of their global peers. 

More than half (53 per cent) of all respondents in the region wish to increase allocations to private equity in the next 12 months, equivalent to their global peers.

Schroders said survey respondents came from institutions including pension funds, insurance companies, family offices endowments and foundations, official institutions, gatekeepers and wealth and financial advisors. The respondent universe is collectively responsible for $74.5 trillion in assets.