More investment opportunities in private markets from banks in Singapore as demand soars

[SINGAPORE] Banks in Singapore are launching more private market offerings in 2026, on the back of the double-digit growth in demand for such assets that many experienced last year.

The 2026 Global Private Wealth Survey by private markets firm Hamilton Lane found that 86 per cent of private wealth professionals plan to increase allocations to private markets this year. This is up from a year earlier, when the figure was 56 per cent.

The 2026 survey found that the allocation will be spread evenly across different asset classes, with private equity at 19 per cent, private real estate at 18 per cent, private credit at 16 per cent, venture capital and growth at 16 per cent, and private infrastructure at 15 per cent.

Private banks here have observed steady interest from clients in private market assets, with some noting a significant uptick in 2025.

“In 2025, we saw assets under management (AUM) in private markets and hedge funds grow by approximately 90 per cent,” Jason Ng, alternatives specialist for Asia and the Middle East at Julius Baer, told The Business Times.

At UOB Private Bank, “actual inflows to private market funds doubled year on year from 2024”, said Wong Meng Keet, who heads managed products and alternative investments. This reflects “growing client comfort” with this asset class, he added.

The Bank of Singapore (BOS), meanwhile, saw a 30 per cent increase in alternative assets in 2025. This, said head of alternative investments Chee Jiun Wen, came as clients sought to “diversify their portfolios, boost income streams, hedge inflation and strengthen returns”.

At DBS, client subscriptions to private market assets doubled in 2025, although there was a slight pullback in private credit allocation due to concerns over systemic risks.

James Tan, DBS Bank group head of investment products and advisory, said alternatives penetration, which encompasses private assets and hedge funds, has “roughly doubled” since 2020.

“Over the same period, private AUM within our private banking client base increased by nearly fivefold.”

Shift in demand

There has been some shift in demand, which Julius Baer’s Ng noted was historically focused on private equity buyouts and private credit in the US. Now, there is a growing demand for European direct lending, private infrastructure and private equity secondaries, he said.

Similarly, BOS’ Chee noted clients’ interest in private infrastructure, an asset class that is seen as providing diversification, downside mitigation and resilient cash flows, among others.

Private banks have responded to demand by expanding their private market product portfolios.

DBS, for instance, has grown its evergreen fund offerings – funds with no fixed fund tenure – to over 10. Clients can now gain access to select private investments in innovative global companies in the space technology and artificial intelligence segments.

Over at Citi, the US giant has introduced eight new products across private credit, private equity, private infrastructure and private real assets.

There is also demand for evergreen private market funds, said Stephen Pak, head of alternative specialists for Japan, Asia North and Australia, and Asia South at Citi.

These investment vehicles with no fixed termination date have the advantage of allowing investors to enter private markets without the traditional barriers of entry of having to commit to a closed-end fund.

This year, Citi launched new products with Blackstone, KKR and Blue Owl. “We have observed a steady increase in AUM of private market assets since we launched our evergreen funds,” said Pak, noting that there has been a notable increase in subscriptions year on year.

Other banks have beefed up their offerings to include European private credit, hedge funds and private equity products.

For Julius Baer, the majority of growth has been with clients who have relatively small exposure to alternatives. This is typically below 10 per cent, and they often start their private markets journey with investments into diversified private equity, private credit or hedge funds.

For ultra-high-net-worth clients looking at multigenerational time horizons, Julius Baer has a “cross-generational asset allocation” framework.

“Within this model, alternatives typically represent 20 to 40 per cent of the portfolio, with 15 to 30 per cent allocated specifically to private markets across private equity, private credit and private real assets,” said Ng.

Emerging attractions

While the usual mainstays in private market assets continue to attract client allocations, other asset classes are piquing more interest. BOS’ Chee said downside protection and uncorrelated returns continue to favour mainstays – hedge funds and private equity – among clients.

Secondaries in the private markets are also gaining the eye of clients, providing “a way to put capital to work at a faster pace into mature assets, and often at attractive discounts”, he added. Secondaries refer to investing in existing private market assets.

Ng said that in 2026, Julius Baer expects secondaries to “play an even more prominent role, particularly as exit activity remains constrained by valuation gaps and longer holding periods across private markets”.

Private infrastructure is emerging as an asset class that clients are more interested in, in part due to its returns, which can be comparable to those of long-term equities, he noted.

In addition, the asset class has evolved to include digital infrastructure such as data centres, cell towers, fibre networks and renewable energy.

“Client exposure to the asset class remains modest, but this year, we are seeing growing interest driven by demand for diversified, low volatility, and desire for uncorrelated return streams,” said Ng.