Global investors are turning eastward, channeling roughly $100 billion into Asia excluding China over the past nine months as diversification strategies gain steam, according to Goldman Sachs’ Asia-Pacific president Kevin Sneader. Speaking at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore, Sneader highlighted Japan’s prominence in this influx, driven by a desire to spread risks beyond U.S. assets. Sectors like technology, consumer discretionary, industrials, and healthcare are hotspots, with private markets seeing particular enthusiasm.
China’s recent equity surge, propelled by domestic buyers and tech fervor, is starting to lure back foreign funds, though mutual funds remain wary. Sneader described the flows as “incremental” and part of a broader diversification rather than an exodus, cautioning that much involves “fast money” from global hedge funds. Meanwhile, Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay noted the end of traditional globalization, emphasizing supply chain resilience costs and AI’s pervasive influence, while GIC’s Ankur Meattle pointed to rising deal activity in China’s biotech and EV spaces.
This capital wave could reshape global portfolios, but volatility in geopolitics and tariffs looms large—will Asia sustain the momentum, or is it a fleeting hedge against U.S. uncertainties? Hedge funds are leading the charge, betting on the region’s growth engines for outsized gains.