Hanwha Group’s Pinetree Securities joins Alta Exchange as member firm

PINETREE Securities, the Singapore-based unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Investment & Securities, has joined Alta Exchange as a member firm.

Under the strategic partnership with the Asian digital securities exchange for alternative assets, Pinetree Securities will be able to list investment opportunities not readily available in traditional markets, Alta Exchange said on Wednesday (Feb 12).

The collaboration will provide Pinetree Securities’ investor community access to Alta Exchange’s portfolio of globally sourced alternative assets, spanning high-growth private companies, private equity credit funds, and rare assets such as fine whiskies and wines.

The partnership will focus on serving high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors and family offices.

“The unprecedented demand for high-quality alternative assets, such as private equity, real assets and global private companies has reached new peaks” in South-east Asia, said Sng Khai Lin, co-founder and chief investment officer at Alta.

The collaboration with Pinetree Securities will make such opportunities more accessible while “enhancing liquidity and transparency in trading these assets”, she added.

Global demand for alternative assets is growing, as investors seek to diversify from traditional stocks and bonds. PGIM Investments – part of PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial – said worldwide private investor allocation to alternative investments is poised to rise to US$13 trillion by the end of 2032, from around US$4 trillion as at 2023.

It added that 64 per cent of Asian fund selectors plan to turn to private alternatives in search of diversification.

Pinetree Securities was established in 2019 by Hanwha Investment & Securities to spearhead Hanwha Group’s entry into South-east Asia’s capital markets. The parent company is South Korea’s seventh-largest business group, with interests in energy, ocean, aerospace, finance, and retail and services sectors.