Asset Owner Perspectives Survey 2026: Global Trends and Opportunities

The most ambitious targets are found in Europe, where investors anticipate private market allocations to account for 25% of AUM, compared with 21% in North America and 23% in APAC. This suggests that private markets remain a strategic growth area for institutional portfolios globally.

Top drivers for increasing exposure over the next five years include:

• Diversification from public markets (56%)
• Higher expected returns (42%)
• Access to themes such as electrification and data transmission (29%)
• Resilience of cash flows associated with infrastructure and other assets (26%)

While APAC investors placed more emphasis on diversification (60%) and resilient cash flows (31%), those in Europe are more likely to cite higher expected returns (46%) and government policies or regulatory changes supporting private markets (19%).

Despite this strong interest, challenges persist. Sixty-three percent of asset owners globally reported liquidity as the dominant barrier to increasing private market allocations, with this issue is directionally more pronounced in North America (70%) and APAC (65%).

Transparency (43%) ranks as the second most common obstacle, followed by limited data availability (28%), concerns about the impact on returns (27%), and regulation (25%).

Regional differences reveal varying concerns: North American respondents are directionally more focused on liquidity risk (70%), while APAC investors report limited data availability (33%). European asset owners stand out for their greater focus on regulatory barriers (31%), compared with 27% in North America and 17% in APAC.

Investors are also selective about where they allocate capital. Asset owners reported increased exposure to private equity (43%), infrastructure (35%), and private credit/direct lending (32%), while allocations elsewhere remained relatively stable.

Real estate is the only private market segment where respondents were more likely to report decreasing than increasing exposure, implying ongoing caution toward the asset class despite broader interest in private markets.

Overall, North American and APAC respondents generally appear more active across a wider range of private market asset classes, while European investors maintain a narrower set of exposures and show greater caution toward certain segments.

AI is increasingly influencing both investment decision-making and organizational operations for asset owners.

Respondents identify the greatest opportunities in areas such as:

• Improving workflows (44%)
• Information access (42%)
• Data quality (41%)
• Potential to strengthen investment research and forecasting (35%)

By contrast, relatively little interest is directed toward rebuilding or disaggregating existing models, implying that AI is currently viewed more as an enhancement to existing investment processes than a replacement for them.

Across regions, asset owners reported distinct priorities.

APAC respondents are more likely to place greater importance on AI’s analytical capabilities, citing data quality improvements (44%) and AI-driven investment insights (40%) as valuable uses.

North American and European asset owners focus on productivity and information management, with access to relevant information and data ranking particularly high in North America (48%) and Europe (46%). Workflow efficiency is the leading use case in both Europe (45%) and APAC (45%).

Our survey also finds AI adoption is driven more by employees than by executive mandates. Globally, asset owners are nearly twice as likely to report a bottom-up approach (38%) as a top-down approach (20%), although the largest share (43%) say their organization is taking a balanced approach that combines leadership direction with employee-led innovation.

Europe is the most bottom-up market, while APAC shows the strongest top-down tendencies, implying different approaches to AI governance and implementation across regions.

While asset owners recognize the potential benefits of AI, they’re also considering its investment implications.

When it comes to investment decisions, the greatest concern is whether elevated AI-related valuations and capital expenditure can be justified by future returns, cited by nearly three-quarters (73%) of asset owners.

Additionally, respondents are wary of growing concentration risks, including dependence on a small group of companies, markets, and infrastructure providers. Nearly six out of 10 asset owners are worried about AI-driven demand for data centers and power leading to increased energy costs and/or inflation.

Geopolitical developments play an important role in how asset owners assess risk and position portfolios.

Rising inflation is emerging as the most influential factor globally, with more than three-quarters of asset owners (76%) describing it as material to their investment decisions.

The evolving generative AI landscape (71%) and the energy and supply chain crisis (66%) are also widely viewed as material, highlighting investor focus on both technological disruption and economic resilience.

Views on geopolitical concerns vary by region as well. The current US administration, for example, was viewed as most material in North America (61%), compared with 55% in Europe and 54% in APAC.

Meanwhile, Europe (59%) and APAC (54%) respondents were the most likely to cite increasing trade disputes, reflecting the regions’ close exposure to global trade flows and US-China relations.

Despite ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty, sentiment toward US-based assets remains mildly positive. More than one-third of asset owners (38%) reported having increased or intending to increase their allocation to US assets, compared with 33% who have reduced or expect to reduce their allocation.

North American respondents are the most polarized, with 41% citing increased allocations and 39% reporting decreased allocations.

On the other hand, European asset owners are modestly more likely to increase than decrease their allocations to US assets, with a net increase of +8 points (39% versus 31%), while APAC respondents remain net positive (36% versus 31%).

At the same time, allocation decisions reflect both optimism and caution.

Top factors influencing allocations to US-based assets include:

• The Trump administration (51%)
• General allocation rebalancing (37%)
• Regulatory uncertainty in the US (34%)
• Relative valuations and expected returns by region (33%)

Additional concerns cited by a meaningful share of respondents are global conflict escalation (30%), US dollar volatility (29%), and high levels of fiscal debt (25%).

ESG remains embedded in investment decision-making for many asset owners despite changing priorities.

Globally, ESG integration has stabilized following several years of growth. Of the asset owners who apply ESG considerations to their AUM, 18% report that ESG considerations are applied to more than 75% of their AUM.

But regional adoption levels continue to shift. The average proportion of AUM taking ESG factors into account was highest in APAC at 46%, compared with 43% in North America and Europe.

North America recorded the largest year-over-year increase, rising six points from 37% in 2025 to 43% in 2026, while Europe experienced a decline from 48% to 43% over the same period.

Asset owners consider ESG in the investment process for various reasons, such as:

• Stakeholder pressure (34%)
• Ethical or moral principles (33%)
• Fiduciary responsibilities and requirements (31%)
• Support from senior management or leadership (29%)

Investment-related considerations have become more prominent, with investment performance (22%) and risk management (22%) both increasing compared to last year.

However, regulatory drivers have declined in importance, with only 17% citing local regulations and regulators, down from much higher levels in years prior.

Performance concerns and data challenges remain key obstacles, specifically:

• Impact on returns (51%)
• Lack of standardized data (39%)
• Unreliable or out-of-date information (22%)

While climate transition readiness (50%) and energy management (42%) remain the leading environmental considerations, a standout finding is the rapid rise of concerns around the environmental impact of AI use, which increased from 12% to 25% year over year.

Both the ethical implementation of AI in business (22%) and AI's impact on workforce displacement and a just transition (18%) saw substantial increases year over year, reflecting growing awareness of AI's broader societal impacts.

Our survey suggests asset owners place more value on prioritizing tools that help assess future risks and portfolio impacts over those focused primarily on reporting, benchmarking, or compliance.

For instance, APAC respondents show stronger demand for forward-looking ESG risk metrics (47%) and real-time ESG performance updates (41%).

Data quality is viewed as the greatest area for improvement in ESG ratings, data, and indexes over the next five years, cited by 30% of asset owners.

Clarity (19%) and visualization tools (13%) rank a distant second and third, suggesting that investors are less concerned with the amount of ESG data available and more focused on improving the reliability, usability, and interpretation of existing information.

Private markets: Asset owners are increasing their commitment to private markets, with allocations expected to rise from 19% of AUM today to 23% within five years.

AI adoption: AI is moving from experimentation toward practical implementation—respondents see the tool’s greatest value in improving workflows (44%) and expanding access to information (42%).

ESG: ESG remains embedded in investment decision-making despite priorities shifting, with AI-related concerns increasing from 12% to 25% year over year.

One of the clearest themes emerging from this year's survey is the importance of pragmatism. Across topics, asset owners consistently favor approaches that support better decision-making, improve data quality, and deliver measurable outcomes.

While perspectives differ across regions and markets, respondents remain focused on building resilient portfolios and investment processes that can adapt to an increasingly dynamic environment.

As priorities evolve, understanding these perspectives can help asset owners and other market participants identify emerging trends, anticipate changing needs, and make better-informed decisions in support of long-term investment objectives.

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