KKR & Co. appointed Kate Richdale to lead its institutional capital efforts and take charge of a new initiative that aims to tap growing corporate and family wealth in Asia Pacific as an increasingly vital source of capital and dealmaking.
Richdale will become head of global client solutions institutional sales & family capital for Asia Pacific, according to an internal memo. She will drive the firm’s capital raising priorities and further expand the platform for co-investments with rich entrepreneurs and families in the region, the memo said. A Singapore-based spokesman confirmed the appointment.
Entrepreneurs and wealthy investors have increased demand for custom-made and bespoke portfolio solutions to better meet their goals as escalating geopolitics and a mixed economic outlook contribute a more challenging investment environment.
Richdale’s appointment is part of KKR’s broader efforts to step up co-investments alongside clients in deals and funds as the firm leverages on companies and wealthy entrepreneurs eager to diversify their holdings.
Money from institutions such as pension and endowment funds is drying up because many of them heavily invested in private equity to chase returns when interest rates were near zero, and they’re now reluctant to pump more into the asset class. Entrepreneurs and wealthy investors, by contrast, represent a deep reservoir of untapped riches.
The 5-year compound annual growth for financial wealth in Asia Pacific is forecast to reach 7.8 percent, according to a 2023 global wealth report by Boston Consulting Group. That’s higher than the global average of 5.3 percent, a rate that would enable assets to reach $329 trillion by the end of 2027.
Hong Kong had more than 2,700 single-family offices based in the city last year, following the government’s push to bolster its status as an Asian wealth hub. The single-family offices managed at least $10 million, while 885 of them had at least $100 million in assets as of the end of last year, according to a Deloitte survey commissioned by the Hong Kong government, which is targeting to have 200 large family offices set up in the city by 2025.
Richdale, a KKR partner, joined the US firm in 2019 as head of strategy & business development for Asia Pacific to help expand its platform across business strategies and deepen its key client relationships in the region. More recently, she was KKR’s Asia Pacific chief operating officer.
She previously worked for Goldman Sachs & Co. as chairman of investment banking in Asia ex-Japan. Prior to that, she was head of investment banking for Asia Pacific at Morgan Stanley after heading the business in Southeast Asia for several years.
KKR recently closed on technology growth and impact funds that were bigger than their predecessors. The firm expects that 22 of its 30 strategies will come to market in the next 12 months to 18 months and sees fundraising strength in private wealth, its Global Atlantic insurance arm and Asia, according to Co-Chief Executive Officer Scott Nuttall.
Over half of the family offices in the Asia-Pacific region have seen their assets under management grow, according to the 2023 report published by Raffles Family Office and Campden Wealth. The survey covered 330 family offices globally, including 76 from the Asia-Pacific region.
Among these 76 offices, 58 percent reported an increase in assets under management, with 32 percent noting a rise of over 10 percent. The total wealth of the surveyed Asia-Pacific families was estimated at $68 billion, with a combined AUM of $41 billion.
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