Key Takeaways
- • J.P. Morgan Asset Management released its eighth annual Global Alternatives Outlook, a 12-to-18 month view across real estate, infrastructure, transportation, timberland, hedge funds, private equity and private credit.
- • The outlook identifies core infrastructure at an inflection point, with capital expenditure set to materially outpace depreciation for the first time this century, driven by energy demand, security needs and the energy transition.
- • Private credit is maturing, with senior-secured US direct lending still offering a healthy premium over public market credit, per the report.
- • Hedge funds are positioned to benefit from higher rates, elevated volatility and equity dispersion, which the report says favor stock-pickers and tacticians.
- • J.P. Morgan Asset Management cites a $600 billion alternatives platform and $4 trillion in total assets under management as of September 30, 2025.
Summary
J.P. Morgan Asset Management released its eighth annual Global Alternatives Outlook, which provides a 12-to-18 month view across key alternative asset classes. The firm says the report highlights its highest-conviction ideas as private markets mature into a structural mainstay of global finance. Jed Laskowitz, Global Head of Private Markets, said that many leading companies are staying private for longer and that the opportunity for investors is immense. Anton Pil, Global Head of Alternatives Solutions, said private markets will play an increasingly important role as portfolio diversifiers through real assets, as hyper-globalization fades, global AI investment accelerates and the stock-bond correlation trends upward.
In real estate, the report says commercial property is entering a new recovery phase supported by prospective rate cuts, limited supply and continued economic expansion. Demand for high-powered industrial space is rising, with power availability now a central factor in site selection. Residential markets remain structurally undersupplied, supporting single-family rentals, attainable multifamily and flexible living. In infrastructure, the firm highlights energy demand, energy security and the energy transition as drivers of higher returns for core infrastructure, especially power utilities, with vertically integrated utilities best positioned to capture near-term upside.
The transportation outlook points to one of the strongest asset replacement cycles in decades as aging global fleets meet rising trade volumes, with constrained manufacturing capacity creating a favorable supply-demand imbalance for lessors. Timberland is described as offering steady cash flows, inflation protection and long-term appreciation, with lower rates and better housing supply supporting lumber demand in the US and Australia. The report also cites improving transparency in voluntary carbon markets as an added value driver for forestry-based carbon projects.
For hedge funds, the report says higher rates, elevated volatility and equity dispersion favor relative value, statistical arbitrage, and long/short and event-driven strategies. In private equity, it expects the small- and mid-market to benefit as markets normalize, with credit conditions described as more borrower-friendly. In private credit, the firm says the market is maturing amid growth in secondaries and convergence with public credit, while hyper-competition is pushing lenders toward disciplined sourcing and manager selection. The release notes that private market investments are illiquid, can be difficult to value, may carry higher fees and limited transparency, and are not suitable for all investors.
In real estate, the report says commercial property is entering a new recovery phase supported by prospective rate cuts, limited supply and continued economic expansion. Demand for high-powered industrial space is rising, with power availability now a central factor in site selection. Residential markets remain structurally undersupplied, supporting single-family rentals, attainable multifamily and flexible living. In infrastructure, the firm highlights energy demand, energy security and the energy transition as drivers of higher returns for core infrastructure, especially power utilities, with vertically integrated utilities best positioned to capture near-term upside.
The transportation outlook points to one of the strongest asset replacement cycles in decades as aging global fleets meet rising trade volumes, with constrained manufacturing capacity creating a favorable supply-demand imbalance for lessors. Timberland is described as offering steady cash flows, inflation protection and long-term appreciation, with lower rates and better housing supply supporting lumber demand in the US and Australia. The report also cites improving transparency in voluntary carbon markets as an added value driver for forestry-based carbon projects.
For hedge funds, the report says higher rates, elevated volatility and equity dispersion favor relative value, statistical arbitrage, and long/short and event-driven strategies. In private equity, it expects the small- and mid-market to benefit as markets normalize, with credit conditions described as more borrower-friendly. In private credit, the firm says the market is maturing amid growth in secondaries and convergence with public credit, while hyper-competition is pushing lenders toward disciplined sourcing and manager selection. The release notes that private market investments are illiquid, can be difficult to value, may carry higher fees and limited transparency, and are not suitable for all investors.
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