According to a survey by AssetTribe, over half of UK and European high net worth investors' appetite for alternatives is set to increase over the next 12 months, with only 6.4% saying it would decrease.
AssetTribe interviewed 586 investors in the UK and EU, defined as high-net-worth individuals working with family offices, for this survey. Targeted investors were estimated to have investable assets over £250,000.
One of the key reasons for this growth was inflation, followed by an increased need to diversify portfolios as well as the potential to gain higher, potential returns.
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From within the alternative asset class, real estate was the most popular asset with investors with infrastructure and long-term asset funds second, followed by carbon net-zero funds, forestry, fine art and wine.
AssetTribe's founder and CEO, Jeremy Davie, said: "Alternatives has been a rapidly growing asset class for institutions for the last 20 years and it is clear that high-net-worth investors want in on the act. What was more eye-opening and pleasing to see were investors considering an increasingly diverse range of alternatives, from real estate to wine and net zero funds."
The survey also showed that 39% of investors were likely to use regulated platforms to make investments, while 32% prefer a wealth manager and 29% invest directly. Additionally, 74% of respondents said that they are now more open to concepts such as tokenisation.
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It is wort nothing that the participation of UK investors in alternatives significantly lags behind their European counterparts. Nearly 90% of the European investors surveyed currently invest in the sector , versus just 35% of UK asset owners.