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Asia Alternatives
Asia Alternatives was launched in 2005 by Melissa Ma, Rebecca Xu, and Laure Wang to give institutional investors a dedicated channel into Asian private...
Asia Alternatives
Asia Alternatives was launched in 2005 by Melissa Ma, Rebecca Xu, and Laure Wang to give institutional investors a dedicated channel into Asian private equity. The firm opened offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, and San Francisco within a year. The Beijing office received its WFOE license in 2009, and Asia Alternatives became the first and only LP to obtain a Qualified Foreign Limited Partner license in Shanghai in 2011. The founding partners bought back all shares from founding investors in August 2017, making the firm 100% partner-owned. The firm operates as a solutions platform, committing capital to top-performing local fund managers across Greater China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and Australia. Its strategy spans buyout, growth and expansion, venture capital, and special situations. Deployment is shaped by a dedicated local team of over 50 professionals operating from five offices. Beyond primary fund commitments, the platform sponsors and anchors new funds, executes direct co-investments alongside its GPs, and purchases secondary interests. The LP Partnership Program provides investors with direct GP access, in-house Asia research, and curated co-investment opportunities. Total committed capital reached $2.0 billion with Fund VI in December 2021, bringing the firm's aggregate deployment to roughly $15 billion across six fund families. The firm maintains offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, San Francisco, and Frankfurt. In September 2018, Asia Alternatives formed a joint venture with Franklin Templeton to launch the bespoke global private equity fund-of-funds entity, Franklin Templeton Private Equity, extending its distribution reach. December 2021: Asia Alternatives held a final close for its sixth fund family at $2.0 billion, exceeding its $1.8 billion target. Asia Alternatives' structural differentiator is its first-mover local operating footprint in China. It was the first fund-of-funds to open an office in Mainland China and remains the only LP to hold a QFLP license. This license permits direct investment into RMB-denominated funds, giving it access to managers that offshore-only allocators cannot reach. Combined with a 20-year track record of GP access across the region, this architecture doubles as an intelligence network for LPs seeking genuine Asian private equity exposure.
General information
Firm type
Generic
Year founded
2005
AUM
Approximately $15 billion (per the firm)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
One Embarcadero Center, 16th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111, United States
Additional offices
Hong Kong · Beijing · Shanghai · Frankfurt
Principals
Melissa J. Ma
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Head of San Francisco Office
Rebecca Xu
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Head of Beijing Office and Head of Shanghai Office
Laure Wang
Co-Founder
Akihiko Yasuda
Managing Director, Head of Hong Kong Office
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Asia Alternatives source its fund managers?
Asia Alternatives relies on a team of over 50 local professionals based in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, San Francisco, and Frankfurt. The team collectively speaks more than six Asian languages and includes native Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian professionals. The firm's 2006 move to open an office in Beijing made it the first Asia-dedicated fund-of-funds on the ground in Mainland China, and its unique QFLP license provides direct access to RMB-denominated funds.
Is Asia Alternatives a single family office or an institutional manager?
Asia Alternatives is an institutional fund-of-funds manager, not a family office. It was co-founded by Melissa Ma, Rebecca Xu, and Laure Wang in 2005 and became 100% partner-owned after buying back founding-investor shares in 2017. The firm manages pooled vehicles for a global LP base of institutional investors including pensions, endowments, and sovereign funds.
Does Asia Alternatives make direct investments or only commit to other funds?
The firm is primarily a fund-of-funds, committing to top-performing private equity managers across Asia. It also operates a co-investment program that allows LPs to invest directly in companies alongside Asia Alternatives' GPs. The firm sponsors and anchors new funds and executes secondary transactions as part of its broader solution platform, offering value beyond traditional primary commitments.
What investment stages does Asia Alternatives typically target?
Asia Alternatives diversifies its portfolio across buyout, growth and expansion, venture capital, and special situations strategies. It does not concentrate on a single stage but allocates across the full spectrum of Asian private equity. The firm's goal is to produce risk-adjusted, alpha-generating portfolios through manager selection rather than direct stage or sector concentration.
Which geographies does Asia Alternatives cover explicitly?
The firm invests across Greater China (Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong), Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and Australia. Its on-the-ground presence in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong gives it the deepest local coverage in Greater China, supplemented by offices in San Francisco and Frankfurt.
How is Asia Alternatives related to Franklin Templeton?
In September 2018, Asia Alternatives formed a joint venture with Franklin Templeton to create Franklin Templeton Private Equity, LLC. Franklin Templeton is the majority owner, while Asia Alternatives and members of the FTPE management team hold minority stakes. The entity provides bespoke global private equity fund-of-funds solutions, using Asia Alternatives' sourcing and due-diligence capabilities as a cornerstone.
Who runs investment decisions at Asia Alternatives?
Investment leadership is split across the co-founders and senior managing directors. Melissa Ma runs the San Francisco headquarters as Managing Partner, Rebecca Xu heads both the Beijing and Shanghai offices as Managing Director, and Akihiko Yasuda leads the Hong Kong office. Daily investment decisions and manager relationships are managed through this regional leadership structure.
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