Asia's high net worth women are eager for education about alternative investments, a survey says.

A survey of HNW female investors in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan finds that 89 per cent of them would boost exposures to alternative investments – such as private equity and hedge funds – if they were better informed about how these investments should sit in a portfolio.

The survey, from Brookfield's Alts Institute, said it found that HNW women in Asia have strong interest in alternative investments, with financial advisors playing a critical role in helping them access and understand these opportunities.

Conducted by CoreData on behalf of Brookfield's private wealth business, the latest Alts Institute survey examined the attitudes and behaviours of The findings come from 275 investors with at least $2.5 million in household investable assets.

The survey found that 83 per cent of HNW women it questioned hold alternatives.

The term "alternative" investment – covering areas such as private equity, credit, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate and hedge funds – has been around for the best part of 30 years, suggesting that the name is perhaps outdated. A shift from public to private equity markets in recent years, for example, has pushed private market investing up the agenda. A decade-plus of ultra-low interest rates following the 2008 financial crash, as well as higher disclosure requirements on listed firms, and a desire for the illiquidity premia available on non-listed markets, have fuelled the trend.

Key findings
Some 94 per cent of respondents think that diversification is critical to managing portfolio risk, and 91 per cent are primarily focused on long-term investing. Some 87 per cent trust their advisor to make the right decisions on alternatives but still want to understand their investments, while 89 per cent want their advisor to stay ahead of the curve on new alternative investment opportunities.

Among women already invested in alternatives, 84 per cent are satisfied with the performance of their alternative investments, and the same proportion are open to investing in additional alternative asset classes which they don't currently own.

For those seeking to increase their exposure, 89 per cent want their advisor to speak to them more about alternatives, and 55 per cent said they have moved, or would consider moving, to a new advisor in order to have better access to high-quality alternatives. Some 74 per cent said they would begin investing in alternatives if their advisor expalined the portfolio's overall benefits rather than the product itself.

Women & Wealth initiative
Brookfield launched its Women & Wealth initiative to help advisors navigate the evolving demographic landscape driven by the Great Wealth Transfer and the growing influence of women investors within wealth management. The global programme provides advisors with actionable insights, educational content and practical strategies to engage female clients more effectively and address changing expectations for financial planning, portfolio construction and long-term wealth management, Brookfield said.

It also offers a series of curated events in Hong Kong, Singapore, the US and Switzerland with Brookfield investment professionals and industry experts.

The Alts Institute will release new global research next month looking at portfolio construction and implementation, offering insights into how advisors are positioning alternatives within client portfolios, the group said. 

New York-headquartered Brookfield Asset Management has more than $1 trillion of AuM across infrastructure, energy, private equity, real estate and credit.