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Canada and US top targets for alternative assets fund raising in 2023

Canada and US top targets for alternative assets fund raising in 2023

30 May, 2023

Ocorian research shows that the UK, Middle East and Singapore will also see strong growth

Alternative fund managers based in the US and Europe were asked to select their top five geographies that they expect to be targeted the most for fund raising over the next 18 months and 65% included Canada in their choice, according to a new study* commission by Ocorian, a specialist provider of alternative fund services and global leader in entity administration, fiduciary and compliance solutions. This was followed by 61% who selected the US, the UK (59%), the Middle East (57%) and Singapore (56%).

85% of alternative fund managers predict US investors will increase their allocation to alternatives in the next 18 months 

As well as being one of the top target countries for alternative asset fund raising, professional investors in the US are also expected to dramatically increase levels of fund raising for alternatives. Nearly two out of five (37%) alternative fund managers say US investors will dramatically increase allocation to alternatives during this period with 85% predicting either a dramatic or slight increase. 

This is followed by the UK, where 36% of alternative fund managers predict investors will dramatically increase their allocation to alternatives. One in three (34%) of fund managers expect investors in continental Europe to do this.

How will the level of fund raising for alternative asset class funds from investors in different countries changing over the next 18 months?

  Increase dramatically Increase slightly Stay the same Fall slightly Fall dramatically
US 37% 48% 14% 1% 0%
Continental Europe 34% 34% 25% 3% 2%
UK 36% 44% 12% 8% 0%
Switzerland 23% 25% 40% 8% 3%
Middle East 23% 30% 35% 8% 0%
Singapore 22% 29% 34% 9% 2%
Japan 23% 35% 28% 7% 3%
South-East Asia (excluding Japan) 26% 36% 29% 7% 1%
Hong Kong and China 23% 33% 35% 6% 1%

60% alternative fund managers will look to fund raise in the Middle East for the first time over the next 18 months

When looking at new markets, the Middle East is where the most alternative fund managers plan to fund raise for the first time over the next 18 months. Almost two thirds (60%) state their organisation will look to raise funds here the first time, closely followed by Canada (58%), the US (53%) and the UK (53%).

Paul Spendiff, Head of Business Development, Fund Services at Ocorian, said: “Our research shows that in a difficult fund-raising environment, alternative fund managers are increasingly looking outside their domestic markets and targeting new pools of capital. Each geography comes with its own set of regulations meaning that effectively launching and managing funds can be extremely complex, particularly when entering markets for the first time, so managers must ensure they have the right skills and experience in place and more importantly the right partners; that can assist them as they navigate towards the right structures and operating model. We can see evidence of this with the establishment of more complex parallel structures to meet the specific investor requirements in each country.” 

About Ocorian Fund Services

Ocorian’s fund services team delivers operational excellence across fund administration, AIFM, depositary and accounting services to the world’s largest financial institutions along with dynamic start-up fund managers and boutique houses. Its team of over 300 funds specialists work across all major asset classes of alternative investment funds such as private equity, real estate, infrastructure, debt and venture capital, whilst its specialist Islamic Finance team is a leading provider of Sharia-compliant investment structures.

Download 'The Outlook for Alternative Fund Capital Raising 2023-24' report