The rise of alternative investment has been one of the major investment trends in recent years as investors hunt for yield in the post Global Financial Crisis (GFC) period. Aside from that, the aftershocks of the GFC have also led investors to diversify away from conventional investment categories such as cash, stocks and bonds. In general, alternative investments refer to any investment that is not considered part of a conventional asset class.
Over the last 15 years, alternative investments grew from just 6% to 12% of US$13.4 trillion of the global market in 2018. By 2025, alternative investments are expected to take up 18% to 24% of the global market. This is reflected by the booming private equity space which has seen more than 100 unlisted companies in the US valued at more than US$1 billion.
Similarly, private debt markets in Europe are also enjoying a stellar growth while ‘shadow banking’ assets have more than tripled to more than €40 trillion since 2003. The rapid growth of alternative investment has mainly been
