Since the turn of the 21st Century, the alternative asset industry generally has undergone unprecedented growth, both in size and complexity. From that point, managers flooded into the market with new and innovative products and solutions. However, the global financial crisis was a catalyst that accelerated demand for alternative asset classes — including real estate — from institutional investors looking to diversify their portfolios.

A new environment is emerging that is characterised markedly by successive waves of regulatory reforms that are imposing even greater levels of scrutiny. And investors, hardened by the financial crisis, have also become increasingly sophisticated, with new and higher expectations.

To get a clearer view of the new landscape, State Street commissioned an extensive survey of 400 alternative fund managers globally, including those involved in real estate (the 2013 State Street Alternative Fund Manager Survey, conducted in