The investment arm of advisory firm Shengjing plans to commit much of the cash in the US to avoid being too dependent on its home country.

Peakview Capital is the investment advisory arm of China-based management consulting and investment advisory firm Shengjing Group, plans to invest more than $1.5bn in 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Peakview was formed in 2014 and operates as a fund-of-funds subsidiary of Shengjing. It has committed capital to three US-based venture capital firms – Menlo Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners and 500 Startups – as well as firms in China and Israel.

However, the unit has now opened an office in Silicon Valley and is in the process of hiring a US-based investment team. Much of the $1.5bn will be invested in the US, Peakview managing partner Erik Lassila told the WSJ.

The decision is part of a wider trend that is seeing large Chinese investors increasingly committing capital internationally to avoid being caught out by turbulence in their domestic stock markets.