Key Takeaways
- • BlackRock Managing Director Ling Yao projected global private market assets will exceed $30 trillion (about NT$990 trillion) by 2030, with growth increasingly appearing before listing as companies stay private longer.
- • Global PE assets under management exceeded $6.4 trillion (about NT$211.2 trillion) as of end-2025, according to Neuberger Berman's Chen Zhiyang, who said listed company counts are shrinking globally.
- • AI-related companies accounted for nearly 90% of venture capital investment in 2026, and the unlisted "Private Magnificent 7" are valued at $2.5 trillion (about NT$82.5 trillion).
- • Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission lifted the 99-investor cap on qualified investors in Asia Bay private funds, which, combined with the government's Asian asset management hub policy, opens new opportunities for domestic firms.
- • Speakers at the forum stressed that in a high-rate environment operational improvement, not financial engineering, is the core driver of private equity value creation.
Summary
The Securities Investment Trust & Consulting Association held its "2026 International Asset Management Forum II" in Taiwan on November 12, bringing together senior executives from BlackRock, Capital Group, KKR, Neuberger Berman, Brookfield and Vista Equity Partners, with nearly 200 industry professionals attending. The forum focused on two themes: AI-assisted investment decision-making and the rise of private markets.
Policy support was a central point. Association Chairman Yu Chao-wen said Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has lifted the "99-investor cap" on qualified investors in Asia Bay private funds. Combined with the government's Asian asset management hub policy, he said the change is drawing more international alternative investment institutions to Taiwan. FSC Vice Chair Chen Yen-liang cautioned that AI adoption requires attention to information quality, model reliability, information security and transparency, and stressed that investor suitability, disclosure, risk management and talent education must be upheld as product diversity grows.
BlackRock's Ling Yao projected that global private market assets will exceed $30 trillion by 2030, noting that trends including AI, the energy transition and demographics are creating new opportunities. Neuberger Berman's Chen Zhiyang put global PE assets under management above $6.4 trillion as of end-2025, and said small- to mid-cap buyout funds stand out for long-term returns. He also highlighted that Asia offers strong potential in software, health care and green energy.
On AI, Vista Equity Partners' He Lixian said industry-wide adoption remains early-stage, while BlackRock's Marko Milek argued that AI cannot replace ultimate responsibility and fiduciary judgment, and that governance and human oversight must scale with the technology. Capital Group's Matt Raynolds projected that token usage by AI agents will grow 24-fold by 2030, and identified near-term opportunities in infrastructure bottlenecks such as computing power, electricity, cooling and data centers.
Brookfield's Yang Qi said financing costs remain elevated, so investment models that relied on financial engineering have less room, and earnings growth and operational improvement are increasingly important to PE returns. KKR's Xu Tongguang emphasized manager selection, arguing that managers with industry expertise and flexible exit strategies can deliver differentiated results.
For Taiwan's securities investment trust firms, the easing of the investor cap widens room to design alternative products, but also brings international standards into the domestic market. Industry observers note that closing gaps in talent and internal controls will determine whether firms capture the benefits of the hub policy.
Policy support was a central point. Association Chairman Yu Chao-wen said Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has lifted the "99-investor cap" on qualified investors in Asia Bay private funds. Combined with the government's Asian asset management hub policy, he said the change is drawing more international alternative investment institutions to Taiwan. FSC Vice Chair Chen Yen-liang cautioned that AI adoption requires attention to information quality, model reliability, information security and transparency, and stressed that investor suitability, disclosure, risk management and talent education must be upheld as product diversity grows.
BlackRock's Ling Yao projected that global private market assets will exceed $30 trillion by 2030, noting that trends including AI, the energy transition and demographics are creating new opportunities. Neuberger Berman's Chen Zhiyang put global PE assets under management above $6.4 trillion as of end-2025, and said small- to mid-cap buyout funds stand out for long-term returns. He also highlighted that Asia offers strong potential in software, health care and green energy.
On AI, Vista Equity Partners' He Lixian said industry-wide adoption remains early-stage, while BlackRock's Marko Milek argued that AI cannot replace ultimate responsibility and fiduciary judgment, and that governance and human oversight must scale with the technology. Capital Group's Matt Raynolds projected that token usage by AI agents will grow 24-fold by 2030, and identified near-term opportunities in infrastructure bottlenecks such as computing power, electricity, cooling and data centers.
Brookfield's Yang Qi said financing costs remain elevated, so investment models that relied on financial engineering have less room, and earnings growth and operational improvement are increasingly important to PE returns. KKR's Xu Tongguang emphasized manager selection, arguing that managers with industry expertise and flexible exit strategies can deliver differentiated results.
For Taiwan's securities investment trust firms, the easing of the investor cap widens room to design alternative products, but also brings international standards into the domestic market. Industry observers note that closing gaps in talent and internal controls will determine whether firms capture the benefits of the hub policy.
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