Billionaire investors are increasing their exposure to private equity in spite of concerns that the end of loose monetary policy will hurt weaker firms in the sector.
Family offices managing vast fortunes for wealthy individuals have increased their allocation to private equity from about 15 per cent in 2019 to a fifth last year — the largest gain for any asset class. Many plan to keep putting more money into private companies over the next five years, according to a report by Swiss bank UBS.
The findings, which are based on a survey of some 200 family offices that each manage more than $2bn on average, come despite worries that central banks’ effort to tame inflation by cooling the economy will expose weaker private equity firms.