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BALA CYNWYD, Pa., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2019 Context Allocator Trends Report revealed strong demand for alternative investment strategies, with 72 percent of respondents noting they are optimistic about the industry and 97 percent planning to increase or maintain their net positions in alternatives by the end of the year. The report is based on responses from nearly 450 institutional allocators in attendance at Context Summits Miami 2019.

Ron Biscardi, co-founder and CEO of Context Capital Partners, commented: "Despite the doom and gloom headlines around the industry, our survey highlights that investors are not pulling back from hedge funds, but rather taking a more sophisticated approach to how they allocate capital. This helps explain that despite the industry experiencing $34.6 billion in net outflows in 2018, hedge fund managers who attended Context Summits Miami 2019 experienced $7 billion in inflows during the same time period. We are quite confident strong demand for alternative investments will continue, particularly in investment strategies that are uncorrelated with traditional markets."   

Additional key survey findings include:

• Increased Optimism for Better Market Performance in 2019: The majority (63 percent) of allocators believe the market in 2019 will perform better than in 2018, when the S&P 500 dropped by 6.24 percent.

• Allocators Prefer Emerging Managers: Allocators continued to show consistent support for emerging managers, with 57 percent saying they favor new managers, defined as those with less than a three-year track record or less than $300 million in assets under management, over more established managers. That figure tracks closely to the 60 percent of investors who had the same sentiment in 2018 and is a number that has remained remarkably steady over the past few years.

• Investors are Looking More Closely at ESG: While investors varied widely in how strongly ESG issues factored into their investment process, more than half of allocators (58 percent) said that they looked at ESG issues when evaluating strategies. By comparison, when asked in 2018, 51 percent of allocators indicated an intention to increase allocations to these funds and 38 percent said they already consider ESG or responsible investor factors as part of their investment strategy. This slight increase suggests that investors have placed a greater value on ESG and look at it as more than just a checking-the-box exercise.

• Geopolitical Risks Worry Allocators the Most: When ranking what topics keep them up at night, allocators agreed geopolitical risks worry them the most, followed by market volatility and the threat of trade wars. In contrast, allocators were less immediately concerned about climate change and the threat of military conflict.

The full survey results, along with an analysis of key findings, are available via the latest Context Allocator Trends Report at: https://contextsummits.com/resources/allocator-trends/.

"With risk's to the global economy in the headlines every day, investors are keenly aware of the potential threats to their portfolios and are actively attempting to mitigate those risks by allocating to niche and innovative alternative strategies," added John Culbertson, President and CIO of Context Capital Partners. "Whether it's offering a unique approach to managing the risks of a trade war or constructing a portfolio that is more robust than traditional allocation strategies, the alternative investment industry is set up to offer investors a path to navigate market volatility and uncertainty."

The annual allocator survey was conducted at Context Summits Miami 2019, an annual event that convenes fund managers and allocators for a series of one-on-one meetings and small group interactions. In total, more than 2,300 managers, institutional allocators representing over $5 trillion in combined alternative assets under management, and industry service providers attended the two-day conference.

Context Summits will host three additional events around the world during 2019, including Context Summits Europe 2019 (May 12-14 at the Grimaldi Forum and the Fairmont Monte Carlo in Monaco) Context Summits West 2019 (June 2-4 at the Terranea Resort in Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA) and Context New York 2019 (October 3-4 at the Hilton Midtown in New York, NY). For additional information, please visit http://www.contextsummits.com/.

About Context Summits
As the preeminent producer of events for the alternative asset management industry, Context Summits focuses on elevating the conference experience through an innovative format and structure where relationship building leads to unmatched results. A pioneer of the one-on-one 'summit' format, Context Summits utilizes an innovative approach to deliver effective and transparent networking events that elevate the conference experience for managers, allocators and service providers. Through its systematic approach, Context Summits is able to attract high quality attendees, making meetings efficient and productive. For more details, please visit: http://www.contextsummits.com.

About Context Capital Partners
Context Capital Partners, LP is a leading alternative investment specialist firm headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, PA and the parent company of Context Summits. Through direct and indirect partnerships, Context provides acceleration capital, marketing, distribution, operations and infrastructure support by partnering with top-tier alternative asset managers. Context's focus is delivering superior investment solutions to institutional investors and family offices by launching and expanding low correlation investment products that deliver clear edge. For more information on Context Capital Partners, please visit: www.contextcp.com.

Contact:
Emily Tracy 
646-818-9257 
etracy@prosek.com

SOURCE Context Capital Partners