KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): Asia-Pacific investors are actively shuffling their portfolio, predicting greater volatility ahead amid worries over geopolitical risks, according to a survey.

Only 5% of investors polled in Schroders’ flagship Global Investor Insights Survey 2026 made no changes to their portfolio. Nearly nine out of 10 respondents in Asia expect greater market volatility over the next year and 29% expect conditions to be “much more volatile”.

“In an increasingly volatile world, investors are reshaping portfolios to put diversification and resilience front and centre, while also juggling geopolitical risk,” Johanna Kyrklund, the chief investment officer of the British multinational asset management firm, said in a statement.

Schroders surveyed more than 1,000 institutional investors, wealth managers and other intermediaries globally with combined assets under management of US$72 trillion.

There were 245 respondents from Asia-Pacific polled over April-May.

More than half of the Asia-Pacific investors are looking for buying opportunities. Broadly, investors are also mindful of the possibility that technology and other themes may rotate out of favour, Schroders said.

About eight in 10 investors believe that diversification is the most important portfolio priorities and 53% are increasing geographic diversification outside the US while 48% are moving to defensive assets such as cash and short-duration papers.

Those diversifying away from technology identified energy, infrastructure, ‘value-focused strategies’, healthcare and life sciences, and real assets as the most likely sources of returns, the firm noted.