Dear Members,

 

As we begin the countdown for the second Access Alts China Members Meet in Shanghai, I feel both thrilled and excited. Over the past one and a half years we have built an unparalleled network of LP's in the US and Asia. Our Investment Club now has over 200 Members with over US$2 trillion in represented assets, focused keenly on Asia alternatives. Adding the China piece truly completes the picture.
 
And while Shanghai, with its thriving, or should I say mind-boggling technological advancements, exciting startups and highly entrepreneurial spirit, provides enough incentive to make the trip to China, I wanted to take a moment to explain why this move is strategic for Access Alts Asia.

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Future China Unicorns

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It is my belief that the next set of global unicorns will undoubtedly come out of China, followed closely by India and South East Asia. The mind-boggling innovation and its commercialization in China is by no way an accident; it is in fact well thought out 30-year strategy by the China government. In addition to uplifting over staggering 600 million people above the poverty line, this strategy has involved funding and cultivating transformational technology and new companies that are changing the lives of over a billion people in China alone, and this is just the beginning. Much of this technology is transportable across Asia, particularly South East Asia with similar demographics and robust population, making these businesses scalable in a way that is unimaginable anywhere else in the world. While these businesses are great concepts in themselves, there are also extensive opportunities in ancillary industries, such as services, logistics, transportation, enterprise solutions and Artificial Intelligence that is powering them all.

 

Hence, for any globally minded investor, the fertile markets of China, India and South-East Asia present a plethora of opportunities, both in the public and private markets. At the Access Alts Asia Investment Club, we have been looking through these opportunities, both through funds (Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Venture Capital) as well as direct deals and co-investment opportunities. We now feel that we have an excellent set of differentiated strategies, managers and companies that we can showcase to our member community with great results.

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Exciting Spinouts and Deal Showcase

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Our China Members Meet in Shanghai on September 11-12 is an excellent opportunity for all our LP members and friends to come explore these opportunities with us, and access not only some of the established but often the most promising spinouts and emerging managers on both the public and private side.

 

We will also have sessions on India, Middle East and Global Opportunities, inviting key participants in these markets to share their thoughts. In short, the two-day program on September 11-12, 2018 can be a window to the real, on the ground action in China, and indeed across Asia.

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This year, we are also adding a Deal Showcase, inviting what we think will be the future Unicorns out of China in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Enterprise, Smart and Self-Driving Cars, Online Marketplaces, Facial Recognition, Digital Healthcare etc.

 

Evolving Asian LP Base​

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We are also fortunate to have with us this year a large cross-section of evolving family offices out of China and Asia. I’m very heartened to see that many of these family offices are being led by young, dynamic sons and daughters of not just the old, established families of the region but also self-made billionaires – the new technology, healthcare and consumer entrepreneurs. The Gen Next sees things we don't and are adding tremendous value to the Family Offices not just with their spirit and drive, but also with their fresh perspective and insights. 

 

The Asian capital pools also consist of several institutions such as GIC, CIC, Temasek, Universities and other government and pension pools across the region, and we are fortunate this year to have requests from a number of these institutional investors to join the Access Alts club and our China Members Meet.

 

The family office structure in Asia is evolving too; whilst in the past this function has been in simple investment company holding structure format and performed by Finance Heads within the business, many families are hiring professional investors in CIO roles and creating a standalone family office entity.  It is a pleasure to have with us a number of professional CIOs this year.

 

This year, we also expect to have a number of notable US and Middle East Family Offices travelling to Shanghai to join our Members Meet. These families are looking at newer and creating Alpha opportunities, and the primary goal is to access below-the-radar funds as well as direct deals/co-investing opportunities in many cases as it aligns with their businesses back home.

 

Cross-Border Collaborations​

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We believe this is an unprecedented opportunity for Access Alts Asia to create what would truly be the first investment bridge between Asian alternatives and global investors. Team Access Alts has spent weeks traveling through Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Mumbai, New Delhi, Jakarta, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea to sift through institutions and family offices to identify the most professional and active investors – there was plenty of fluff there that needed to be cut out.

 

Another interesting observation I have had is that there is a strong opportunity for cross-fertilization of businesses between Asian and Global families, so feel free to discuss expansion opportunities for your portfolio companies with each other. With a flurry of exits and IPOs this year (Xiaomi, Tencent Music, PingAn Good Doctor) with valuations crossing multiple billions, Asia is indeed the place to be.

 

A final thing I need to emphasize is that this is relationship-driven market. These investors, funds and companies will want to get to know and understand each other better, perhaps fall in love with each other a little, before they enter deals or write cheques. With that in mind, in addition to the main event on September 11th and 12th, we will be hosting a dinner, a wine-tasting and a number of social events around our China Members Meet to facilitate informal networking, strategic introductions and warm conversations.

 

Either way, this will rock, so please use this opportunity to mingle, listen/present your strategies to a what is essentially the market of the century, and build productive, long term relationships. 

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Thank you for your support and Welcome Again to Family Access Alts. Please contact us for memberships and access to our Member Meets.

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Aradhna Dayal

CEO, AccessAlts Asia

ceo@accessalts.com

+852 9231 3350