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LPs are rewriting the Playbook for the Next Private Markets Cycle
As IPEM Global 2026 kicks off in Paris, our latest LP data shows a market bracing for lower returns and adapting fast. Allocators are rotating out of large buyout into small-cap, co-investment and emerging managers, while AI is reshaping sector bets: capital is leaving software for healthcare and industrials, late-stage venture is heating up, and a sovereignty thesis around deep tech, defense and space is gaining real traction.
Add rising conviction in infrastructure, a manager base splitting between mega-firms and a resilient mid-market, private credit brushing off crisis talk, and a fresh push toward international diversification — and the picture is clear: the rules of the last cycle don't apply to the next one.
Download the full report to see the data behind these shifts and what they mean for your fundraising strategy.