Singapore investors are reshaping portfolios with a focus on capital preservation: survey

[SINGAPORE] Investors in the Republic and Asia-Pacific are adjusting their portfolios in response to geopolitical uncertainty and rising market concentration, according to a recent survey from a global investment manager.

The Schroders Global Investor Insights Survey 2026 found that 87 per cent of investors in the region expect greater market volatility over the next year, compared with 85 per cent globally.

For Singapore investors, this has translated into a stronger emphasis on capital preservation, active management and cross-asset investing across public and private markets.

They appear significantly more focused on preserving capital than their regional peers, at 64 per cent versus 44 per cent – reflecting a cautious approach amid ongoing market uncertainty.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific investors are slightly more alert to near-term risks.

“What we are hearing from investors across Asia is consistent: in a more volatile and geopolitically uncertain environment, they want asset managers who can be nimble, provide access to specialist exposures, and work across both public and private markets,” said Gopi Mirchandani, head of client group, Asia at Schroders.

He is also seeing a meaningful shift in how portfolios are being built.

“Investors are increasingly looking at equities, credit and income through a single lens rather than in separate silos,” said Mirchandani. “The focus is on outcomes – resilience, real income, access to growth – rather than asset class labels.”

Over April and May 2026, the study surveyed more than 1,000 institutional investors, wealth managers and other intermediaries globally, with combined assets under management of US$72 trillion. Of these, 245 respondents were from Asia-Pacific.

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Conducted following the outbreak of war in Iran in early 2026, the survey found that geopolitical risks weigh more heavily on Asia-Pacific investors than their global peers. Fifty-five per cent of respondents from the region cited further geopolitical escalation as the event most likely to impact portfolios in the year ahead, followed by commodity and energy price shocks (52 per cent) and an economic slowdown or recession (48 per cent).

At the same time, concentration risk has emerged as a key concern. Only 4 per cent of Asia-Pacific investors (versus 8 per cent globally) say they are unconcerned about index concentration, while 37 per cent are rotating into active management specifically to address it.

Holistic approach

As investors reposition their portfolios, energy has emerged as the preferred sector should markets rotate away from artificial intelligence and technology. In Singapore, 62 per cent of investors identified it as a source of returns and diversification, compared with 50 per cent across Asia-Pacific.

Conviction in active management remains strong, with 70.5 per cent of Singapore investors citing nimbleness to navigate uncertainty as a key benefit of active management, compared with 55.2 per cent across Asia-Pacific.

The survey also revealed a growing shift towards a holistic approach across public and private markets.

Singapore investors are among the most likely globally to evaluate public and private equity opportunities through a combined framework, with 72 per cent taking a holistic approach, compared with 53 per cent across Asia-Pacific.

This is reflected in the growing adoption of private credit. The proportion of Singapore investors holding no private credit is expected to fall from 17 per cent to 9 per cent, compared with 23 per cent to 15 per cent across Apac.

The survey also found that Singapore investors are more likely than their regional peers to take a holistic approach when assessing income opportunities across equities, fixed income and private markets. 62 per cent surveyed will be using a cross-asset framework compared with 57 per cent across Asia-Pacific.

This comes at a time when Asia-Pacific investors are increasingly prioritising inflation protection in their approach to income.

Notably, 49 per cent of regional investors cited securing real income above consumer price inflation as a primary reason for allocating to income-generating assets -– a trend led by Singapore at 57 per cent and China at 56 per cent.

According to the survey, downside protection and capital preservation emerged as the most important portfolio priorities for Asia-Pacific investors at 83 per cent and 82 per cent, respectively.

They are also actively repositioning, with only 5 per cent planning to maintain their existing strategic allocations, compared with 8 per cent globally.

Meanwhile, 54 per cent of these regional investors are looking for buying opportunities, 53 per cent are increasing geographic diversification outside the United States, and 48 per cent are moving towards defensive assets such as cash and short-duration instruments.