Asian Private Banker: US alts giant doubles Asian discretionary assets in four years

July 16, 2024 | 2 Min Read
  • SHARE
Media Coverage

US-headquartered Hamilton Lane is beefing up its alternatives offerings and talent hiring to better serve the growing needs of U/HNW and family office clients in the region. 

“Our Asian discretionary AUM has doubled in the past four years to US$20.9 billion, demonstrating the strong growth that we have had in Asia,” according to Kerrine Koh, head of Southeast Asia, Hamilton Lane, adding that “as we started to grow our evergreen platform in Asia about five years ago” the firm is really proud of this achievement. 

She noted that private market penetration in private wealth is still very low, with estimates putting it at below 5% of investors’ portfolios. 

“We have been in the market for more than 30 years, doing just private markets with the focus of serving institutional clients. Now [that] we turn our eyes to private wealth and high net worth individuals, we feel that that is a huge gap,” she noted. 

Hamilton Lane currently manages approximately US$903 billion in AUM and supervision, comprising US$120 billion in discretionary assets and nearly US$783 billion in non-discretionary assets, as of end-2023. 

Singapore-based Koh worked for BlackRock for over a decade before joining Hamilton Lane. Her last title was head of alternatives distribution for Southeast Asia. 

Building alts blocks

Koh noted that after laying out some of the flagship funds to Asian clients, the next step for the firm is to provide exposure and more products for end clients from a more diversified perspective. 

“We are actually creating more products that are key building blocks. We currently cover private equity, private credit, so we are looking to launch a private infrastructure fund,” Koh told Asian Private Banker.  

The Nasdaq-listed alternatives investment manager has recently raised US$4 billion for its private market fund. 

In May, the firm’s Global Private Assets Fund (GPA Fund) reached approximately US$4 billion in AUM and built a five-year track record of performance with an annualised net performance of 14% since inception as of 31 March 2024. 

Since launching in 2019, the GPA Fund offers portfolio construction diversified across buyout, credit and venture capital/growth through a single allocation, according to the firm. 

Hirings to continue

The firm continues its hiring for business expansion in the region. 

Most recently, Nelson Chan joined the firm from UBS Global Wealth Management in May. Chan is a vice president in the client solutions department. He is responsible for the business development of investment solutions and strategies for intermediaries and private wealth. 

The firm currently employs nearly 700 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. 

The firm has more than 50 individuals in Asia, and more than half are in sales or distribution. The firm is also increasing its headcount in Japan and Australia. 

Recent Content

Video

Hamilton Lane Q2 Private Wealth Webinar: Beyond Tariffs

Hamilton Lane experts analyse private wealth investing amidst evolving macro conditions, exploring current market dynamics and investment implications.

Watch the Video
Insights

Weekly Research Briefing: A Return to Persia

The summer weekend began with a major geopolitical event on Saturday. As of now, we do not know if this event will add or subtract a risk factor to the financial markets. While we are hopeful that the weekend strikes will be a one-time event that will cause an increase in peace for the Middle East, it is up to Iran to decide its next move.

View the
Video | 8 Min Watch

How to Construct Portfolios with an ELTIF

Discover how the newly revised ELTIF regulation is democratizing private market investing in the European Union, making it accessible to a wide range of investors. This video explores the benefits of ELTIFs and evergreen fund structures, and how they provide opportunities for diversification and enhanced returns in diversified portfolios.

Watch the Video