Two-fifths (40 per cent) of institutional investors say they plan to increase allocations to private debt investments over the next three years, according to a new survey by Coalition Greenwich.
The survey, which polled more than 100 large U.S. and Canadian institutional investors with US$500 million to $50 billion in assets under management, found roughly a third of respondents are planning to increase their positions in private equity (33 per cent) and venture capital (28 per cent).
Six in 10 (60 per cent) respondents said they’re willing to invest in funds with a duration between 11 and 14 years, while 20 per cent said they’re open to private market funds lasting 15 years or longer.
Read: Survey finds 66% of asset owners increasing allocations to private markets
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of investors selected commingled fund investments as their preferred way to approach private markets, followed by co-investment in individual transactions (29 per cent), separate accounts (24 per cent), direct investment in specific private assets (22 per cent) and other fund structures (nine per cent).
Private equity (47 per cent) and private debt (42 per cent) asset classes saw the highest increase in allocations over the last three years, followed by private real estate equity (26 per cent), private infrastructure equity (26 per cent), venture capital (26 per cent), private real estate debt (16 per cent) and private infrastructure debt (12 per cent).
Roughly two-thirds (67 per cent) of investors identified alternative energy investments in private infrastructure as the most attractive opportunity in the next two years. In the private debt asset class, 58 per cent of respondents said direct lending was the leading investment option.
“While the move into private assets is a trend spanning institutional investors of all sizes and types, the biggest North American institutions are moving most aggressively to integrate significant private asset exposures into their portfolios,” said Todd Glickson, head of investment management of North America at Coalition Greenwich, in a press release.
Read: Private debt helping institutional investors meet their goals in 2023