Dynamic Markets: Takeaways from the 2026 Asia Alternative Investments Conference

Interest in alternative investments has grown amid shifting market dynamics. In the past decade, individual investors allocated $4 trillion to private markets—and that figure is projected to rise to $12 trillion over the next 10 years¹.

At our 2026 Asia Alternative Investments Conference, leaders and private market investors in our network discussed trends and opportunities that can help clients navigate this dynamic asset class. They shared perspectives on private equity, real assets, growth equity, secondaries, and private credit.

Beyond these asset class fundamentals, the conversation gravitated toward the macro forces reshaping investment landscapes worldwide. Two themes rose to the top: geopolitics and AI. Speakers noted how the current geopolitical moment could be an inflection point for governments and markets. “I actually think that we will be looking back on this period in history as quite a pivotal moment,” says Josh Frydenberg, chairman of Goldman Sachs in Australia and New Zealand. “The combination of hot wars, cold wars, and rapid technological change is very profound.”

As AI continues to reshape how we live, work, and communicate, Dmitry Shevelenko, chief business officer at Perplexity AI, thinks the technology has the potential to transform the economy by shifting how value is created. “I think we're leaving the job era where people hate their jobs,” he says. “I think we’ll have a massive boom in entrepreneurship as the undesirable jobs get automated and the jobs of the future are the ones where people use their unique perspectives, curiosity, and drive to make positive impact on the world.”

Private Equity: Evolving Opportunities

Dynamic market conditions over recent quarters have sparked many discussions in the private equity space on the trajectory of this asset class. After one of the longest periods of low distributions, Adrian Jones, chairman of global private equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, notes that this liquidity freeze should continue to thaw. Panelists highlighted growing opportunities in private equity across the US, Europe, and Asia in sectors such as insurance, inspection, testing and certification, and power grid resilience and efficiency to support the growing energy demand for artificial intelligence.

Although the US private equity market has historically been more developed and robust, there are “interesting opportunities in European and Asian markets for those who have deep relationships in the region and a view of a particular sector,” says Pontus Pettersson, partner at Cinven, adding that recent fiscal stimulus in Europe, a weakening US dollar, and Europe’s relative undervaluation are creating interesting investment opportunities that could help diversify portfolios. Regardless of the region, Pettersson evaluates investments with three metrics in mind: Businesses with 15% - 20%+ growth potential, companies that can be fundamentally transformed, and a clear path to eventually sell. “We're not trying to find ways to benefit from a specific moment in time. We're trying to find compelling investment opportunities where we see differentiated growth or transformation potential,” he adds.

Manager selection is key to maximizing growth potential in private equity, given the wide dispersion in returns between top and bottom quartile managers. Current technology trends could amplify the divide. “I think we're on the cusp of an era of real manager dispersion, largely brought about by the capacity with which they can take advantage of opportunities and disruptive companies in the artificial intelligence space,” says Jones.

Private Credit: Beyond the Headlines With Michael Arougheti

The $3 trillion private credit sector has been in the spotlight, as dislocation in traditional lending markets and higher interest rates create opportunities for private lenders.

“For the first time in my career, we’re seeing incredibly high-quality assets in both real estate and corporates that were underwritten in a different rate and discount environment and there’s now a mismatch in their capital structure,” says Michael Arougheti, co-founder and CEO of Ares Management Corporation. For investors, this dynamic offers exposure to high-quality underlying assets at attractive risk-adjusted returns by bridging capital for sophisticated borrowers facing temporary constraints, rather than buying assets from distressed sellers.

In addition to cyclical opportunities, Arougheti says it can be important to concurrently focus on “big, secular growth trends that you can invest behind without regard to where we are in the cycle.” For Ares, those include artificial intelligence, industrial logistics, and healthcare. With ample opportunities, Arougheti notes it’s crucial for investors to understand what they own. “Over time, I have seen so many smart investors get the asset right, but the wrapper wrong,” he says. “Get your structures right—and always make sure you’re going into any period of the market with appropriate access to liquidity.”

Brick and Mortar: Constructing a Real Asset Portfolio

Real assets—infrastructure and private real estate—have experienced several paradigm shifts in the last few years, including demand changes during COVID, rising rates, and higher inflation, explains Ali Margolis, managing director in the Alternative Capital Markets Group at Goldman Sachs. “But one of the benefits of real estate and infrastructure is that historically it’s had a lower correlation to market volatility and is able to deliver positive income regardless of changes in valuation.”

As investors continue to be interested in AI, data centers are only one area of opportunity in this sector, notes Philippe Camu, chairman and co-chief investment officer of infrastructure investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “For us, investing in AI is investing into power, including renewables and waste-to-energy projects,” he says. “Diversification is really important.”

Secondaries have emerged as one of the newer segments of private real estate and infrastructure. “As investors look for alternative liquidity solutions, they’re looking for less duration and more complementarity in their portfolios,” Camu adds. “In an open-end fund, you can combine traditional closed-end funds with the secondaries components, which deliver on the liquidity as you invest into more seasoned, LP stakes.”

Growth Equity: Catalyzing Innovation and Future Value

The software sector is only one of many opportunities in growth equity, but it’s been top of mind for many growth investors. Since its peak in October 2025, the public SaaS market has shed $2 trillion of market cap, largely triggered by AI proliferation, explains Ling Pong, head of North Asia Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs.

Although this dip was a shock, panelists shared why it doesn’t necessarily doom software. Even as new technologies come to market, consumers may still prefer older versions of products and services because they’ve developed a comfort and skill around using them. Additionally, most software systems already have or are integrating AI capabilities, “so the question becomes which of these companies have something durable and defensible, such as proprietary data or deep integration into workflows and processes, that’s going to give them longevity and advantage,” says Christian Resch, head of EMEA Growth Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

The growth equity market in Asia presents unique opportunities in AI due to several advantages over other regions. “There’s a big manufacturing base in countries like Taiwan and South Korea, which means it’s easier to integrate hardware and software, and the cost of production is substantially lower,” says Stephanie Hui, head of Asia Pacific Private and Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs, adding that a cheaper and more renewable power supply presents an edge for building AI data centers. For investors the key will be to “filter out the noise to see which opportunities have a long-term vision and impact,” adds Hui.

The Power of Secondaries: Unlocking Liquidity and Value