Investors in Asia Pacific (Apac) are reshaping their portfolios as geopolitical uncertainty and rising market concentration force a rethink of traditional asset allocation, Schroders’ Global Investor Insights Survey 2026 finds.
The survey, which polls more than 1,000 institutional investors, wealth managers and other intermediaries globally with combined assets under management of US$72 trillion, finds 87% of Apac investors polled expect greater market volatility over the coming year, against 85% globally. Some 29% in the region expect conditions to be much more volatile, compared with 26% globally.
Conducted after the outbreak of war in Iran early this year, the survey finds geopolitical risk weighs more heavily on Apac investors than on their global peers. Armed conflict in the Middle East (76%) and uncertainty over US foreign policy and global leadership (70%) rank as the leading concerns, followed by energy security (62%).
The region is repositioning with conviction. Only 5% plan to keep their existing strategic allocations, against 8% globally. More than half (54%) are looking for buying opportunities, 53% are increasing geographic diversification outside the US, and 48% are shifting into defensive assets such as cash or short-duration instruments.
Concentration risk has become a central worry. Only 4% of investors in the region say they are unconcerned about index concentration, against 8% globally, and 37% are rotating into active management to address it.
Belief in active management runs strong, with 86% of Apac investors confident it can help meet their objectives over the next 12–18 months. They cite its ability to capture opportunities for outperformance (63%), nimbleness in navigating uncertainty (55%) and responsiveness to geopolitical disruption (51%).
“In an increasingly volatile world, investors are reshaping portfolios to put diversification and resilience front and centre, while also juggling geopolitical risk,” says Johanna Kyrklund, group chief investment officer at Schroders.
The survey also points to a more holistic approach across public and private markets, with more than half of Apac investors now weighing both together rather than in separate silos: 53% for equities, 54% for credit and 57% for income. In equities, the share of regional investors with no private equity exposure is set to shrink from 11% to 7% over the next 12–24 months.
“The focus is on outcomes — resilience, real income, access to growth — rather than asset class labels,” says Gopi Mirchandani, Schroders’ head of client group for Asia. “That is a structural change, and it is reshaping what clients expect from their asset managers.”
