Private Equity Outlook Insights from the Insiders

2020 Asia Private Equity Survey

The inaugural Marsh, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman Private Equity survey explores the changing areas of concern for senior Private Equity (PE) executives. More than 40 private equity funds across South East Asia and Greater China were polled for their views on topics ranging from insurance to culture, to operations, to understanding their priorities.

The overarching theme of this survey bringing the combined expertise of our Marsh & McLennan businesses was “value creation in the post-COVID-19 era”, as well as the resulting shifts in priorities at the funds’ portfolio companies. All the leaders who responded shared the same outlook: the impact of COVID-19 is here to stay for the long term, and short-term actions would likely be insufficient to result in sustainable value creation (or even value preservation).

This also begs the question – in the process of urgent and accelerated digital transformation, how many of these leaders and their teams are aware of the risks involved, as well as how to mitigate them?

Crime on the Rise

Related to the topic of Digital Transformation is the rise in Cybercrime incidents. Non-cyber-related crimes are also occurring among white-collar employees due to the perceived independence in a remote working arrangement.

Almost a third of the leaders reported crime-related financial losses in at least one portfolio company within the past three years. A quarter of the respondents also suffered cyberattacks. Following the emergence of COVID-19, we have observed a growing trend of insurance claims filed for these.

As these unforeseen financial losses can substantially affect a portfolio company’s financial performance, funds are naturally turning to risk-transfer tools to safeguard their returns.

To find out more about the insights shared by the PE executives, watch the video below, and download a copy of the full report. 

When faced with challenges, being adaptive will help one identify opportunities to get ahead of the competition. Speak with your Marsh representative to benchmark your fund against the industry averages, and find out how you can outperform your peers.