UK lags behind Europe on retail investor allocations to private markets

Only 4% of client assets

As retail investors across Europe accelerate their allocations to private markets, the UK is lagging behind considerably, a new study by Research In Finance has found.

According to the study of 892 European fund selectors, the proportion of retail client assets currently invested in private markets now stands at 7.7% on average, just below the 9.2% institutional client weighting.  In the UK, however, only 4% of client assets are invested in the private markets. This compares poorly to Germany, with a retail allocation to the space at 12% on average, followed by Benelux at 11% and France and Switzerland at 9% each.  In the past year, over a quarter of European investors currently allocating to private markets, including both institutional and retail,...