Optimism about long-term growth has increased among institutional investors in Asia Pacific despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to recently published research from State Street. However, any post-pandemic rebound will be dependent on some operational changes including greater use of new technology and migrating more systems to the cloud. The annual Growth Readiness Study from State Street found that two-thirds (66%) of Asian institutions are confident about their growth targets for the next five years, an increase of 4% on the previous year’s survey. The study also found that investors were surprisingly resilient to the effects of the pandemic with 67% stating that they were able to meet or exceed their investment performance targets over the last 12 months, in line with the global figure of 70%. Furthermore, confidence in the one-year growth outlook stood at 42%, just a 3% drop on the 2019 figure. To achieve future growth targets, both Apac and global respondents identified three priorities: increased productivity, more investment in new technology allied with a move away from legacy systems and migration of systems to the cloud. Asian institutional investors also identified the same top threats to growth next year as their global counterparts, namely new regulations or taxation as a result of Covid-19 or an economic recess and rising geopolitical tensions. “Covid-19 has dealt a blow to confidence across the board, but the survey shows that Asian and global institutions believe the long-term, five-year outlook is as strong as ever before,” said Mostapha Tahiri, head of Asia Pacific at State Street. “This suggests most institutional investors are confident that they can rebuild stronger as they emerge from the disruption driven by the pandemic. “The crisis ushered in new operational complexities for the investment industry, which accelerated and intensified the search for resiliency and efficiency. Enhancing productivity and technologies will be key priorities for growth in the coming year for asset owners, asset managers and insurance companies,” said Tahiri. The survey canvassed more than 600 global institutional investors, 23% of which are located in Apac. © 2020 funds global asia