Private Markets Study 2026

In 2026, investors are targeting increases to their private market allocations. Debt is here to stay, but equity is set to regain ground.

Our private markets research team have crunched the Q4 2025 data. They explain how evolving macro conditions are reflected in private debt returns.

The new year has begun with a bang with global equities at, or near, record highs. But as fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) led bubble mount, reducing downside risk without necessarily sacrificing lots of upside potential makes increasing sense.

Owning and trading assets as digital tokens could transform markets, and money market funds are leading the charge. We explore what this means for investors.

Japan’s bond markets enter 2026 transformed and recent structural shifts have changed the behaviour of the country’s powerful life insurers.

Correlation is one of the most widely used statistical measures in modern finance. But investors looking for genuine portfolio diversification may wish to use it alongside other metrics as they look to mitigate risk.

Aviva’s Nick Molho looks at this year’s policy priorities and likely developments for the UK’s low-carbon agenda, and reflects on what it means for investors.

European infrastructure debt enters 2026 in a healthy position, with no shortage of demand for its diverse range of opportunities. Nonetheless, investors need to be alert to various risks and conduct thorough due diligence, argues Darryl Murphy.

Could the proliferation of short-term leverage strategies be the next hidden challenge for fixed income markets?

Today’s private market investments will shape 2050 cities. We explore what this could look like, and the related challenges and opportunities.

Despite some headwinds, the liquidity team expects broadly supportive conditions in 2026. The new year could also see interesting developments in regulation and tokenisation.

Long-term trends like climate change are particularly important for buy-and-maintain investors. How can they integrate climate objectives, such as net zero by 2050, into their portfolios?

In the last Bond Voyage edition of 2025, we examine the vast amounts of capital being deployed to build new high-capacity data centres and how the expenditure is being funded in the bond markets.

In 2024, we outlined our view on the most important public-policy interventions to unlock private investment in the low-carbon economy. In this update, we take stock of policy developments since, and look ahead to 2026 and beyond.

Our society, economies and financial systems are embedded in nature, not external to it. This paper sets out the actions we are taking to understand nature-related risks and opportunities to deliver outcomes that meet our clients’ needs, and to support nature-related global goals.

Discover why purposeful run-on is emerging as a credible alternative to buyout for well-funded defined benefit (DB) pension schemes – and how it can unlock long-term value while keeping clients' needs at the centre.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, and Ripple, a financial technology company that offers crypto solutions for businesses, have today announced a partnership with the intention of tokenising traditional fund structures. 

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, has announced the appointment of Mark Dove as a Credit Portfolio Manager within the Fixed Income investment team. 

(London) – Average Private Markets allocations by global institutional investors have risen to 12.5 per cent of overall portfolios according to the latest annual ‘Private Markets Study’ by Aviva Investors. The figure is the highest recorded by the Study, which is now in its eighth year, and surveyed 500 global institutional investors from across the UK and Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific together representing $6.5 trillion of assets under management¹.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has completed an investment into the European Battery Energy Storage System (‘BESS’) market, through an  investment with Terra One Climate Solutions (‘Terra One’), a vertically-integrated battery storage developer and operator based in Germany, worth up to €150 million.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces two senior hires to its Global Equities team.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, has announced two new appointments representing the latest in a number of senior, strategic additions to the firm’s Global Fixed Income team. Anna Chong joins as a Sector Lead, whilst Michalis Ditsas joins as a Senior Investment Director; both based in London.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has appointed David Thomas as Global Head of Insurance.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has completed the purchase of New Broad Street House in the City of London, acquiring the remaining stake in the building via its Real Estate Active Long Term Asset Fund (‘REALTAF’).

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has appointed Sam Postlethwaite to the newly-created role of Head of Global Consultant Relations.

(London) – Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of global institutional investors expect Private Markets investments to outperform Public Markets over the next five years, according to the seventh Private Markets Study published by Aviva Investors.

(London) – Aviva Investors, the asset manager of the Aviva Group (‘Aviva’) has appointed Duane Green as CEO, Canada (subject to regulatory approval) and Head of Americas Distribution. He will be based in Toronto and will report to Jill Barber, Chief Distribution Officer, at Aviva Investors. In this new role, Duane will be lead the Distribution team based in Canada and be responsible for all business development and client relationships across the region.

(London) Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of (London) Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva PLC (‘Aviva’), has announced the appointment of Fabrice Pellous as co-Head of Global High Yield. 

(London) Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva PLC (‘Aviva’), has announced the appointment of Gita Bal as Head of Fixed Income Research. 

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has appointed Steven Gardner as Head of Institutional, EMEA.

(London) Aviva Investors, the global asset manager of the Aviva Group, has announced the appointment of Fraser Lundie as Global Head of Fixed Income. In this new role based in London, he will report to Chief Investment Officer Daniel McHugh and will have overall responsibility for the global rates, investment grade, high yield, emerging market debt and global liquidity teams.

(London) Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’), announces the appointment of Cheryl Agius as Non-Executive Director (NED) and Chair of Aviva Investors Holdings Limited.