81 per cent of alternative fund managers expect fundraising levels to rise over the next 18 months, recent research from Ocorian has found.
12 per cent of this group expect fundraising levels to be ‘dramatically’ higher, with the remaining 69 per cent anticipating slightly higher levels. Only 18 per cent expect current levels to continue, with just 1 per cent predicting that they will be lower.
The study, consisting of 100 alternative fund managers active across a range of asset classes and European countries, was conducted in April 2023.
Considering the launch of new funds, 52 per cent of those interviewed were ‘very confident’ in alternative fund managers’ ability to successfully do so in the next 18 months. A further 46 per cent were ‘quite confident’.
The majority of those polled (91 per cent) expect to see more alternative asset fund launches in 2023 than 2022, and 96 per cent anticipate greater capital to be raised this year than the last. 40 per cent expect this growth to exceed 25 per cent.
Looking at specific alternative asset classes, those expected to benefit the most from fundraising over the next 18 months were private equity, infrastructure, real estate, private debt and hedge funds. Real estate, private equity and private debt were predicted to see the greatest increase in fundraising.
Commenting on the findings, Paul Spendiff, head of business development for fund services at Ocorian, says: “2022 was a tough year for the fund management industry, with the number of funds launched and amount of capital raised hitting the lowest levels we’ve seen for many years.
“While it’s still a challenging economic environment and with a number of geopolitical issues making fundraising more difficult in some markets, it’s encouraging to see how positive alternative fund managers are feeling about the year ahead, predicting both higher levels of fund launches and more capital being raised overall. Despite not being out of the woods yet, we expect to see high performing fund managers with the right strategy, good governance and a transparent approach around ESG will benefit from the improving sentiment in the market.”
