For high-net-worth investors living outside their home country, the question of where to put capital has never been more complicated – or more consequential.

Public markets are volatile. North Sea oil prices have hit record highs not seen since the eve of the 2008 financial crisis, with Forties Blend touching nearly $147 a barrel as Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz sends shockwaves through global energy markets. Meanwhile, the push to open private assets to ordinary investors has arrived at a moment of real danger, with questions mounting over how easily these products can be valued and how readily investors can access their capital when they need it.

Against this backdrop, structured income programmes built specifically around private credit and litigation funding are drawing serious attention from sophisticated expat investors across Asia and the Middle East. Not because they promise the impossible – but because they offer something increasingly rare: defined income, capital discipline, and insulation from the noise of public markets.

This guide explains what these programmes are, why they matter for HNW expats, and what to look for before committing capital.

What Is a Structured Income Programme?

A structured income programme is a private markets investment vehicle designed to generate consistent, predefined returns over a fixed term. Unlike equity investments, where returns depend on share price performance, or traditional fixed income, where yields are tied to central bank rates and sovereign credit risk, structured income programmes draw their returns from specific underlying strategies – most commonly private credit lending or litigation funding.

The defining features are:

Defined return targets. Investors enter knowing the projected income range from the outset. There is no reliance on market timing or index performance.

Capital protection mechanisms. Well-structured programmes include provisions designed to protect the original investment, whether through first-loss buffers, security over assets, or conservative loan-to-value ratios.

Fixed terms. Capital is committed for a set period, aligning expectations between investor and manager from day one.

Non-correlated returns. Performance is driven by the underlying assets – loan repayments, legal case settlements – rather than the movement of equity or bond markets.

For HNW expat investors managing wealth across borders, often without access to the tax wrappers available to domestic residents, these characteristics address a genuine structural gap in the portfolio.

Why Private Credit and Litigation Funding

Not all structured income is created equal. The two strategies most relevant to HNW expats – private credit and litigation funding – deserve separate examination.

Private Credit

Private credit refers to loans made directly to businesses outside the banking system. Following the 2008 financial crisis, tighter bank regulation drove significant volumes of corporate lending into the private market. What began as institutional territory has evolved substantially.

For over a decade, structures that were once the exclusive preserve of pension funds and large institutions have been steadily extended to individual investors. The core appeal is straightforward: private credit lenders earn a spread above base rates, secured against business assets, without the mark-to-market volatility that comes with publicly traded bonds or equities.

For expat investors, private credit accessed through a structured programme – rather than a broad evergreen fund – offers an additional layer of clarity. The loan book is defined, the term is set, and the income schedule is known in advance.

Litigation Funding

Litigation funding involves financing legal claims in exchange for a portion of the proceeds if the case succeeds. The funder covers the legal costs; if the claimant wins, the funder receives a pre-agreed return. If the case fails, the capital is lost – which is why due diligence on case selection and portfolio construction is critical.

The UK government has recently moved to strengthen the sector’s legal footing. Ministers plan to remove restrictions on litigation funders introduced by a 2023 Supreme Court ruling known as Paccar, which had prevented funders from receiving a percentage cut of damages in the cases they finance. The government stated it would introduce new legislation to remove this barrier while establishing a framework to ensure funding agreements are fair and transparent.

Litigation funders have said their appetite to back new cases dropped following the Paccar ruling, meaning the pipeline of funded claims contracted. The reversal of that ruling is expected to re-open opportunities in a sector that, at its best, produces returns with almost no correlation to financial markets.

High-profile cases funded through litigation finance have included a groundbreaking High Court action against the Post Office that exposed serious systemic failures in the Horizon IT system, leading to the exoneration of hundreds of wrongly convicted sub-postmasters. The scale and profile of such cases illustrates both the social function and the financial potential of the sector.

The HNW Expat Context

Private markets investment in Asia and the Middle East is not new. Family offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE have long allocated to private equity and credit. What has changed is the urgency.

Geopolitical Disruption Is Reshaping Capital Allocation

Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen dramatically and are running at only around eight per cent of normal levels, according to Goldman Sachs. Asia is particularly exposed, with around 80 per cent of the region’s oil and petroleum products transiting that waterway. The energy disruption is a symptom of a broader instability affecting equities, currencies, and sovereign bonds across the region.

For HNW investors whose wealth is concentrated in public market positions, this environment is a stress test. For those with exposure to non-correlated private market strategies, the picture is different.

The Mainstream Private Markets Expansion Creates Risk as Well as Opportunity

Individual investors expect to be able to access their capital promptly when they need it. But many private assets funds invest in holdings that are difficult to value and hard to sell quickly, meaning withdrawals are often permitted only during limited windows and subject to maximum amounts.

In February, private credit group Blue Owl permanently restricted investors from removing money from one of its inaugural retail private assets funds. Blackstone’s $82bn flagship private credit fund experienced $1.7bn in net outflows in a single quarter.

These are not fringe events. They are structural risks inherent to open-ended private assets vehicles when sold to investors who have not fully internalised what illiquidity means in practice. A campaigner for transparency in financial services has called for honest answers to hard questions before widening access to private markets: whether retail investors genuinely understand what illiquidity means personally, whether valuation methods are reliable, and who is accountable when things go wrong.

The answer for HNW investors is not to avoid private markets. It is to access them through structures designed for investors who understand the terms – and have the capital base to meet them.

What to Look for in a Structured Income Programme

If you are considering allocating to a structured income programme, the following criteria should form the basis of your due diligence.

Clearly Defined Return Parameters

Any credible programme should state projected return ranges clearly, based on the underlying strategy. For private credit, this means understanding the loan book: the types of borrowers, the security arrangements, and the basis for the income projections. For litigation funding, it means understanding the case selection process, the portfolio diversification, and the track record of the manager.

Projected returns in the range of 7-16% annually are achievable within well-managed private credit and litigation funding strategies. Promises significantly above this range warrant careful scrutiny.

Capital Protection Provisions

This is non-negotiable. A well-structured programme will include mechanisms designed to protect the principal, whether through first-charge security over assets, overcollateralisation of the loan book, or ring-fenced capital reserves. Understand exactly what protects your capital and under what circumstances those protections apply.

Transparent Liquidity Terms

Clear disclosure in plain English should be non-negotiable in private markets investment. Features such as the provider’s right to halt withdrawals need to be properly explained before capital is committed.

Any structured income programme worth considering will be transparent about the investment term, the liquidity position during the term, and the process for capital return at maturity. If the liquidity terms are unclear or the manager is reluctant to explain them in plain language, treat that as a signal.

Alignment with Your Tax and Regulatory Position

HNW expats face a more complex regulatory environment than domestic investors. Tax residency, reporting obligations, and the regulatory frameworks governing investment products vary significantly between Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE. A credible adviser will address these directly rather than presenting a generic solution.

Direct Access to Decision-Makers

Most clients focus on emotion, identity, and legacy – they want to be comfortable, provide for those they care about, and pursue the life they have built. Financial advisers who default immediately into technical jargon without addressing these underlying priorities miss the point. A structured income programme should be presented by someone who takes the time to understand your position fully before making any recommendations.

Common Misconceptions

“Structured income is only for institutional investors.”

This was true a decade ago. It is not true now. Minimum investment thresholds for well-designed programmes targeting HNW expat investors typically sit between USD 100,000 and USD 200,000 – accessible to any seriously positioned private investor.

“Private credit and litigation funding are too opaque to trust.”

Opacity is a product of poor disclosure, not of the asset class itself. The founder of Moonfare, a platform serving professional investors, has stated that clear disclosure is non-negotiable and that investors must properly understand all features of the products they enter, including conditions under which withdrawals may be restricted. The same standard applies here. A credible manager will welcome scrutiny.

“If something goes wrong, I have no recourse.”

The UK government has cited the importance of ensuring that ordinary people have the support they need to hold powerful organisations to account, framing litigation funding specifically as a mechanism for enabling access to justice in cases that would otherwise go unpursued. The regulatory direction of travel in the UK – the most developed litigation funding market globally – is towards greater transparency and investor protection, not less.

“I should wait until markets stabilise.”

Senior analysts have warned that tight supply conditions in the physical oil market will persist until shipping through key global waterways resumes, and that even once the situation resolves, logistical corrections will take weeks. Public market volatility is not a temporary condition awaiting resolution. It is the environment. Non-correlated private market strategies are most valuable precisely when public markets are under stress.

The Implementation Gap

Research shows that while 60 per cent of ultra-high-net-worth families have a written succession and wealth plan, half of those families have not implemented it. The gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it is one of the most consistent patterns in private wealth management.

A useful discipline is to keep a short document – written in your own words – setting out what you hold, what you are doing with it, and why. Even when working with expert advisers, this kind of ownership of the strategy helps with sense-checking and long-term commitment to the plan.

The same principle applies to private markets allocation. The investors who benefit most are not those who spend the longest evaluating options. They are those who take a clear position, understand the terms, and stay committed to the strategy through its full term.

Next Steps

Carey Suen works directly with HNW expat investors across Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE, providing access to structured income programmes in private credit and litigation funding. There are no intermediaries, no advisor layers, and no generic solutions.

If you are considering your private markets allocation and want to understand whether a structured income programme is appropriate for your position, the right starting point is a direct conversation.

Book a call with Annette Houlihan at Carey Suen