The majority of investors in hedge funds, commodity trading advisors and private equity funds expect to increase their allocations to those private investments in 2012, according to a survey by AlphaMetrix.

A total of 65 per cent of investment managers and investors surveyed said they intend to increase their allocations to private investments by some degree this year, with 25 per cent of participants planning to raise their allocations significantly. Further, 35 per cent intend to leave their existing allocations unchanged.

Respondents answered a range of questions during the AlphaMetrix 2012 Miami Summit, a leading networking conference for the private investment industry. Attendees from more than 250 managers representing more than USD610 billion in assets under management and over 400 investors participated in the Summit. Overall, more than 200 total investors and managers participated in the survey.

Some 41 per cent of private investment managers and investors believe equities will be the best-performing asset class in 2012, while 26 per cent expect commodities to outperform this year. The majority of respondents expect this year's market volatility to remain at or above levels seen in 2011: This includes 49 per cent who expect volatility in 2012 to be similar to last year, and 14 per cent who expect much higher volatility in 2012. Thirty per cent of managers and investors responding expected 2012 to see a decrease in volatility relative to 2011.

Half of all survey participants believe that the European Union's periphery nations will break off, while the core nations will remain part of the Eurozone; 8 per cent expect the Eurozone countries to revert fully to their respective national currencies. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents expect at least one country in Europe to default on its debt in 2012. Of those investors and managers who named a specific country, 80 per cent expect Greece to default this year.