More investors demanding transparency from private markets: Aladdin
[SINGAPORE] Investors today want to know what their money is going into – even within private market assets, said Tarek Chouman, global head of Aladdin Client Business at Blackrock.
'People are expecting to understand where their money is going, which company is being held by the fund, how the company is performing against the expectations of the general partner,' he added.
Aladdin is a technology platform built by Blackrock for portfolio management.
And not only do investors want to know exactly where their money is going, they also want the specifics of how a fund is performing. For instance, if a fund with a portfolio of companies manages to sell one of its companies for a windfall, while the rest perform poorly, the outsized sale of that one company would skew the fund's performance.
When the general partner (GP) of the fund looks to raise the next fund based on the previous fund's performance, investors would not know the real reason for the outperformance without the specifics.
'If you know that the allocation of the performance was related to one company out of 40, you wouldn't commit your money for the fund,' said Chouman.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
With private markets forecast to grow to US$30 trillion globally by 2030, it is a significant asset class that asset managers are not ignoring.
Exposure to private markets vary by region and country, and Blackrock estimates that institutional players in Japan have one of the lowest exposures at 5 per cent, with Singapore much higher, and Australia probably with the highest.
Aladdin is also trying to plug the gap in transparency and visibility in private markets with its February 2025 acquisition of Preqin, a data platform for alternative and private market assets.
The acquisition was powered by the belief that private markets data will grow in value because of its current scarcity. Chouman said the move by private markets data towards transparency mirrors that of public markets data, paving the way towards convergence of the two segments in the coming years.
He said Aladdin has the most accurate post-investment data, as it has its clients' consent to get it direct from their asset managers. In this same push for data becoming more accessible, Preqin offers pre-investment data, which it gets from media reports and calls through Aladdin's direct connections with GPs.
'It is the most comprehensive that exists in the industry,' said Chouman.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Singapore and Indonesia strengthen economic ties amid global uncertainty
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong (right) and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto at the 15th Singapore-Indonesia Six Bilateral Economic Working Groups Ministerial Meeting. PHOTO: MTI SINGAPORE - Singapore and Indonesia have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen economic ties at a high-level bilateral meeting held in Singapore on June 15. The 15th Singapore-Indonesia Six Bilateral Economic Working Groups Ministerial Meeting or 6WG MM was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto. The meeting is a key economic platform between Singapore and Indonesia to advance economic cooperation in six areas. These are namely the Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) region and other special economic zones, investments, manpower, transport, agribusiness and tourism. This latest bilateral meeting comes after the two countries signed three deals on clean energy and sustainable development during a visit by Singapore's Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Dr Tan See Leng to Jakarta on June 13. Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto is also set to make his first state visit to Singapore on June 16. These bilateral engagements between Singapore and Indonesia come at a time of uncertainty in global politics. Bilateral trade between Singapore and Indonesia has grown steadily over the last few years, with both countries being among each other's largest trading partners. In 2024, bilateral trade reached US$57.6 billion. Singapore has been Indonesia's top source of foreign direct investments (FDI) every year since 2014, with FDI flow into Indonesia exceeding US$20.1 billion in 2024. On June 15, Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, and Mr Airlangga also witnessed the signing of two commercial agreements at the 6WGMM. One agreement is an affirmation letter between Singapore's Sembcorp Development and Indonesia's PT Batamraya Sukses Perkasa on their commitment to collaborate on low carbon industrial parks in the BBK region. The two companies are jointly developing the 100ha Tembesi Innovation District, which aims to attract sustainability-focused tenants, and will generate 20,000 jobs when it is fully developed. The other agreement is a memorandum of understanding between the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association and the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The two associations will join forces to expand market access between semiconductor and electronics companies in Singapore and Indonesia. Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a press release that both leaders underscored the importance of improving both country's business and regulatory environment to attract investments, and helping people and businesses collaborate and seize emerging opportunities in both countries. To that end, the leaders welcomed growing investor interest in the BBK region, and recognised the good progress in human capital development. In the agribusiness sector, the ministers discussed initiatives to advance agri-tech collaborations and create new trading opportunities for Indonesian importers and Singaporean exporters, which will benefit both countries' food industries. The leaders also welcomed improvements in air connectivity and reaffirmed the commitment to deepen business connectivity between Singapore and Indonesia,which will boost trade, investments and people to people flows. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Business Times
8 hours ago
- Business Times
Singapore, Indonesia reaffirm economic ties in ministerial meeting; two commercial arrangements inked
[SINGAPORE] Singapore and Indonesia reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral economic ties at the 15th Singapore-Indonesia Six Bilateral Economic Working Groups Ministerial Meeting (6WG) on Sunday (Jun 15). Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto co-chaired the meeting. The 6WG is an economic platform between Singapore and Indonesia to advance economic cooperation in the Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) region and other special economic zones, investments, manpower, transport, agribusiness and tourism. Bilateral trade between Singapore and Indonesia has grown over the past few years, reaching US$57.6 billion in 2024. Indonesia ranks among Singapore's largest trading partners, and Singapore has been the top source of Indonesia's foreign direct investment since 2014, with more than US$20.1 billion in 2024. The two ministers discussed deepening collaboration between businesses and investment opportunities in both countries including industrial infrastructure, healthcare and the green economy. Growing investor interest in the BBK region was welcomed, along with the progress in human capital development. Initiatives to advance agritech collaborations and new trading opportunities for Indonesia and Singapore businesses were also reviewed. Both ministers reaffirmed the commitment to deepen business connectivity between the two countries. Two commercial arrangements were also inked during the 6WG meeting. The first was between Sembcorp Industries and Batamraya Sukses Perkasa, a subsidiary of property developer Panbil Group. The two companies signed an affirmation letter on their commitment to collaborate on low-carbon industrial parks in the BBK region. Sembcorp and Panbil are jointly developing the 100 hectare Tembesi Innovation District, which aims to attract sustainability-focused and high-value tenants, and will generate 20,000 jobs when it is fully developed. A memorandum of understanding was inked between the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association and the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The two associations will partner to expand market access via enhanced collaboration between semiconductor and electronics companies in Singapore and Indonesia. Business facilitation, information exchange, joint events and industry round tables will be conducted to drive collaboration between companies in both countries.
Business Times
11 hours ago
- Business Times
China's biotech moment ignites a 60% stock rally that beats AI
China's biotechnology stocks have shaken off a four-year slump to be among the hottest performers in Asia this year and funds are tipping further gains. The Hang Seng Biotech Index has surged more than 60 per cent since the start of January amid investor enthusiasm over a pair of billion-dollar deals involving foreign firms licensing Chinese drugs. Share gains at two highly anticipated listings of local producers have further burnished the sector's appeal. 'China biotech is no longer just an emerging story – unlike 10 years ago – it is now a disruptive force reshaping global drug innovation,' said Yiqi Liu, senior investment analyst at Exome Asset Management in New York. 'The science is real, the economics are compelling, and the pipeline is starting to deliver.' The surge in China-listed biotech firms is further evidence that the mainland is becoming a centre for global innovation. The rally in the sector this year outpaces the 17 per cent gain in China's tech stocks that was driven by the release of DeepSeek's breakthrough artificial-intelligence app in January. A major reason for the share gains were two mega-sized licensing deals. Pfizer said on May 19 that it had agreed to pay a record US$1.25 billion to license an experimental cancer drug from China's 3SBio, and also invest US$100 million in the firm's shares. Two weeks later, Bristol-Myers Squibb said it would pay Germany's BioNTech as much as US$11.5 billion to license a cancer drug that BioNTech had itself licensed from China's Biotheus in 2023. Some of the gains in biotech shares this year have been stratospheric. 3SBio has surged 283 per cent, topping a Bloomberg gauge of global biotech stocks. RemeGen, which develops antibody drugs, has climbed more than 270 per cent after saying it was approached by multinational pharmaceutical firms for potential licensing deals. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up China's growing influence through pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions and deal-making is also causing investors to take note. In the first quarter alone, the value of such deals involving local players doubled from the year before to US$36.9 billion. That amount made up more than half the global total of US$67.5 billion. Chinese biotech companies are having 'their own DeepSeek moment', said Dong Chen, chief Asia strategist at Pictet Wealth Management in Hong Kong. There is more upside from here, he said. Investor interest in biotech – which involves the use of living organisms to make medicines and other products – can be seen in the big runup at recent initial public offerings. Shares of Duality Biotherapeutics, which develops cancer treatments, more than doubled on their first day of trading in Hong Kong on Apr 15. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, the nation's largest drugmaker by market value, saw its stock jump 25 per cent on its May 23 debut, even after being issued at the top end of the marketed range. Duality has now risen 189 per cent since its IPO, while Jiangsu has gained 31 per cent. Still, some say the rally may be getting stretched. 'Bears, mostly healthcare specialists, plan to take profit at this point, and some investors prefer the healthcare laggers with capability of constant dividend payout and stable revenue growth,' Bank of America analysts including Ethan Cui in Hong Kong wrote in a research note this month. Some investors also said they viewed the rush of recent licensing deals as a one-off, and they were refusing to grant valuation multiples to the companies, the analysts wrote. Talent returns While the recent ratcheting up of trade tensions between the US and China has been a negative for many mainland firms, it's also resulted in talent flowing back to China and creating more research-and-development capability, according to Nicholas Chui, a Chinese equity fund manager at Franklin Templeton in Hong Kong. Jefferies is also bullish, saying the increase in US tariffs is unlikely to prove an obstacle to Chinese biotech firms. Many of the Chinese biotech companies already have US partners and are therefore considered as service providers rather than product exporters, said Cui Cui, head of Asia healthcare research at the company in New York. BLOOMBERG
