March 04, 2026 — Nearly half of Asian Institutional Investors plan to significantly increase allocations to private debt in the next three years.
Asian institutional investment portfolios logged their second consecutive year of strong growth last year, climbing approximately 7% from 2024 to 2025. Overall portfolio positioning remained relatively stable from year to year, with allocations to both international and domestic equities increasing only slightly on the basis of strong market-wide performance and increased demand for Asian equities.
“Asian institutions also kept allocations to alternative asset classes relatively stable last year,” says Ken Yap, Head of Investment Management, APAC ex. Japan, at Crisil Coalition Greenwich. “However, it is notable that within the alternatives sleeve, private debt now represents the biggest allocation, at roughly 3.6% of total assets.”
Asian institutions are projecting much more growth ahead for private credit. Approximately 47% of the institutional investors taking part in the Coalition Greenwich Voice of Client – 2025 Asian Institutional Investors Study plan to significantly increase allocations to private debt—a level of bullishness rarely seen in any asset class in the firm’s research in markets around the world. Sizable shares of Asian institutions also expect to meaningfully increase allocations to infrastructure debt, private equity and other private/alternative asset classes.
Picking the Right Asset Managers for Private Markets
The share of Asian institutions citing manager selection as a key issue for the year ahead increased to 37% in 2025 from just 24% in 2024—a shift that likely reflects the broad move into private markets.
“Performance dispersion among managers is a fact of life in private markets,” says Ken Yap. “Given that reality, as Asian institutions move into private markets, the challenge of hiring the right asset managers is becoming an increasingly important consideration.”
Selecting an asset manager in private markets is not all about performance. To the contrary, in these illiquid, opaque and often unfamiliar markets, Asian institutions are focusing on a unique set of criteria they hope will set them up for long-term success. One top priority is reporting. The share of Asian institutions citing “quality of reporting” as a key criterion used in manager searches in private markets tripled to 33% in 2025 from 10% in 2024. Institutions also rate timely and clear communication around capital calls and distributions as a key service from private managers, along with high-quality and frequent investor communications.
“Above all, our research shows that institutional investors in Asia and globally are prioritizing one characteristic when choosing managers in private markets,” says Ken Yap. “They want managers with long track records in private markets and established, proven investment teams.”
Institutional Investors in Asia Pivot to Private Debt covers select insights from the Coalition Greenwich Voice of Client – 2025 Asian Institutional Investors Study.