The top 100 alternative investment firms around the world held $3.3 trillion of assets last year, up from $3.1 trillion a year earlier, according to Towers Watson.

The top 100 alternative investment firms around the world held $3.3 trillion of assets last year, up from $3.1 trillion a year earlier, according to Towers Watson, the professional services firm that is listed in the US.

In a report issued alongside the Financial Times newspaper, the Global Alternatives Survey, as it is called, shows that of the top 100 managers, real estate firms have the largest chunk of all assets measured, (at 31 per cent and over $1 trillion), followed by private equity (23 per cent and $753 billion), hedge funds (22 per cent and $724 billion). Others are private equity fund of funds (10 per cent and $322 billion); funds of hedge funds (5 per cent and $173 billion); infrastructure funds (4 per cent) and commodities (2 per cent).

Data from the broader survey show that total global alternative AuM is now $5.7 trillion and is split between the asset classes in broadly similar proportions to the top 100 alternative investment managers, with the exception of real estate, which falls to 24 per cent, and hedge funds, which increases to 27 per cent of the total.

“For almost all of the past 11 years of this research, we have seen increasing allocations to alternative assets by a wide range of investors. Not only has the appeal of alternative assets broadened to include many more insurers and sovereign wealth funds, but the range of alternative assets has also increased beyond the likes of hedge funds and infrastructure to include real assets, illiquid credit and commodities,” said Brad Morrow, head of manager research, Americas.

America remains Number One

The research shows that for the top 100 managers, North America continues to be the largest destination for alternative capital (45 per cent), with infrastructure as the only major exception (with more capital invested in Europe). Overall, 38 per cent of alternative assets are invested in Europe, 7 per cent in Asia Pacific and 10 per cent invested in the rest of the world.

Australia’s Macquarie Group is the largest infrastructure manager, with $96 billion, and tops the overall rankings, while Blackstone ($70 billion) is the largest real estate manager. The Goldman Sachs Group is the largest private equity manager in the ranking, with $60 billion, and Carlyle Solutions Group is the top PEFoF manager, with $48 billion.

Blackstone is the largest FoHF manager, with $54 billion, while Bridgewater Associates is the largest hedge fund manager, with $87 billion. BlackRock is the largest commodities manager, with $53 billion; M&G Investments is the largest illiquid credit manager ($31 billion), and the largest manager of real assets is EII Capital Management, with $11 billion.