Central banks hasten push into new asset classes Reserve managers in Asia and elsewhere aim to relax their investment guidelines amid the pandemic fallout, with an eye on assets such as EM stocks and private equity, say experts. On the hunt: Some central banks aim to add portfolio risk, but cautiously Like other asset owners in recent years, even central banks have struggled to achieve their (relatively low) target returns. Now the prospect of interest rates being depressed for years to come to support Covid-hit economies seems to have accelerated moves by reserve managers into riskier assets such as emerging market stocks and private equity.