To speak without wisdom is to decide without foresight.
With Preqin‘s alternative assets sector statistics now exceeding $4.95 trillion globally (Q3.24), the increasing allocation to alternatives during bull market phases raises important strategic questions.
A central theme to our agenda in Zürich—conveniently held near the Swiss National Bank headquarters—was key risk-takers contain and respond to three-sigma risk events.
Key takeaways from our session
The data from banks in attendance reinforced this:
• 7 out of 10 institutional clients are actively increasing their strategic asset allocations.
• One panellist quantified this shift with a clear example: an increase from 8% to 10% in strategic asset allocation (SAA)—a 25% relative rise.
Among asset allocators, equity market volatility remains ranked as the top concern, surpassing interest rate movements.
Yet, the fastest-growing segment remains digital assets, with respondents reporting a 1.54x increase in appetite over the past 24 months—a significant momentum shift. This rapid evolution in asset allocation highlights a crucial market reality: crowded trades often carry the highest drawdown sensitivity.
Remerciements
Our hosts for this event were the ALFI – Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry and UBP – Union Bancaire Privée.