Private market appetite holds as Singapore leads regional investment value
A Goldman Sachs survey found 84 per cent of institutional investors intend to maintain or increase private market investments despite slower returns of capital.
Institutional investors remain committed to private markets despite difficulties getting capital back, according to Goldman Sachs’ 2026 Global Alternatives Survey. Singapore, meanwhile, represented more than 74 per cent of South-east Asia’s private equity value in 2025, a separate EY report found.
Goldman Sachs surveyed 255 limited partners and other institutional investors between June and August 2026. It found that 84 per cent planned to keep investing at their existing pace or increase commitments, compared with 83 per cent in 2025.
Cash payments from funds remain a constraint. A lack of distributions was affecting investment plans for 35 per cent of respondents, against 31 per cent in 2025. Marc Nachmann, Goldman Sachs’ global head of asset and wealth management, said investors retained confidence but were choosing managers more selectively.
KPMG cited Singapore’s political stability, legal transparency and role as a regional financial centre as reasons for its continued appeal, despite a sharp fall in private equity deal value. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is considering widening retail investors’ access to private market funds.
Infrastructure attracted a more favourable assessment from 43 per cent of Goldman Sachs respondents than a year earlier, while 7 per cent had become less positive. The bank pointed to demand for computing capacity and data centres, partly driven by artificial intelligence, as a source of investment opportunities.
Geopolitical tensions topped the survey’s risk rankings for a third consecutive year, with 36 per cent naming them as their greatest investment risk.
