A new Marsh survey finds asset owners moving capital toward real assets and growth markets as geopolitical threats alter investment decisions.
The survey covered 430 asset owners and points to a change in portfolio priorities. Investors appear to be seeking assets and regions that may offer diversification, inflation protection, or stronger long-term growth.
The finding also signals that political risk is no longer treated as a distant concern. Wars, trade disputes, sanctions, elections, and supply disruptions can affect asset values, operating costs, and access to markets.
Real assets gain attention
Real assets can include infrastructure, property, commodities, farmland, and other physical holdings. Their performance may differ from stocks and bonds, giving investors another source of returns.
Some real assets also produce income linked to inflation. Infrastructure contracts, rents, and commodity prices may rise alongside broader costs, although that protection is not guaranteed.
“Capital [is] shifting toward real assets and growth markets as geopolitical risk reshapes portfolios.”
The shift suggests that investors are reviewing how traditional portfolios may respond to political shocks. A standard mix of listed shares and fixed-income securities can remain exposed to interest rates, market sentiment, and policy changes.
Physical assets bring their own hazards. Construction delays, environmental rules, local opposition, and higher financing costs can reduce returns. Many real assets are also harder to sell quickly.
Growth markets offer opportunity and risk
Growth markets may attract capital because of expanding populations, rising consumer demand, infrastructure needs, and economic development. These features can support long-term investment opportunities.
Yet faster growth does not remove political or financial uncertainty. Currency swings, regulatory changes, weak legal protections, and limits on moving capital can create losses.
Asset owners therefore face a difficult trade-off. Markets with stronger growth prospects may also require deeper political-risk analysis and more careful investment structures.
- Real assets may add income and inflation sensitivity.
- Growth markets may provide access to expanding economies.
- Both can carry liquidity, regulatory, currency, and political risks.
Geopolitics moves into portfolio planning
Geopolitical events can affect investments through several channels. Sanctions may block payments or ownership rights. Tariffs can raise costs. Conflict can damage property and disrupt transport routes.
Even assets far from a crisis may be affected through energy prices, supply chains, or market volatility. Investors may respond by spreading holdings across regions, sectors, currencies, and asset types.
The survey’s 430 participants provide a meaningful view of institutional thinking. However, the headline finding does not show how much capital is moving, which markets are receiving it, or how respondents define real assets and growth markets.
Those details matter when judging the scale and durability of the trend. A modest allocation change carries different consequences from a broad retreat from traditional public markets.
What asset owners may examine next
Investment committees may place greater weight on political scenarios, insurance coverage, local partnerships, and exit options. They may also test whether portfolios can withstand currency shocks, sanctions, or prolonged disruptions.
The Marsh findings point to a practical conclusion: geopolitical risk is influencing where institutions place money, not merely how they describe uncertainty. Real assets and growth markets may benefit, but neither provides automatic safety.
Future surveys will need to show whether this shift accelerates and how portfolios perform during periods of stress. For asset owners, the central task will be balancing growth and diversification against the new risks created by moving capital.