Natixis IM: Top Three Worries for APAC Institutional Investors
While markets in 2025 have been proven to be resilient, there are concerns about whether this is sustainable in 2026. A Natixis Investment Managers survey outlined the top three concerns highlighted by investors in Asia.
After a resilient 2025, 80 percent of Asia Pacific institutional investors believe that markets are due for a correction in 2026, according to Natixis Investment Managers’ «Global 2026 Institutional Outlook Survey». This surpasses the global average of 74 percent.
The region’s top concern is a tech bubble at 48 percent, followed by geopolitical shock (45 percent) and recession (40 percent). Globally, the leading worries were geopolitical shock (49 percent), tech bubble (43 percent) and recession (33 percent).
Adjusting Allocations
In line with fears of a tech bubble, APAC investors were the least interested in increasing allocations to US equities at 17 percent.
The areas with the highest interest for stocks were the home region of APAC (61 percent) and emerging markets (45 percent). Within emerging markets, India was most often selected (51 percent) as the top three markets that were likely to outperform in 2026.
Private Markets, Crypto
Nearly two-thirds of APAC investors (66 percent) expect the 60:20:20 portfolio, with 20 percent in alternatives, to outperform the traditional 60:40 stocks-bonds mix. Demand for private markets persists with plans to add allocations to infrastructure (43 percent), private equity (37 percent) and private debt (36 percent). 26 percent also invest in cryptocurrencies with 33 percent looking to increase allocation to the digital asset class.
The survey was based on responses from 515 institutional investors globally who collectively manage $29.9 trillion in assets for public and private pensions, insurers, foundations, endowments, central banks and sovereign wealth funds. In APAC, markets surveyed include mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
