IPEM's Latest Allocation & Fundraising Report Highlights Shifting Dynamics in 2026

Published in partnership with  

IPEM's latest Allocation & Fundraising Report, published in partnership with AlixPartners, reveals a shifting market - where LPs are focussing on quality, top performing managers. 

The research affirms that the private markets ecosystem is becoming increasingly competitive, nuanced and sophisticated. Faced with persistent liquidity issues, LPs are focusing on accessing high-quality, top-performing managers.

New relationships are being prioritised, and spin-out teams are becoming more sought after by institutional investors.

For GPs, there is more opportunity to court new LPs, but the bar to clear to secure commitments remains exceptionally high.

Investors continue to focus on performance in selecting funds and expect GPs to have a thorough value creation thesis as well as the proven ability to execute on it to deliver this performance.

Whether the LP shift towards new GP relationships is a temporary state of affairs caused by the dearth of liquidity is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure: attendees at IPEM Global expect 2026 to be unlike any other year in private markets.

LPs reassess relationships, making re-ups harder.

LPs attending the event are set to make more than 5,800 fund commitments over the next 12 months and allocate €100bn.

This year, there is a focus on building new relationships with GPs, as LPs are significantly less likely to re-up with existing managers than they were last year. In addition, appetite to back emerging managers, and especially spin-out teams, is as strong as it has ever been.

“LPs are moving strongly towards quality and performance, reevaluating how they look at what were once core private markets strategies. Large- and mega-cap funds increasingly target retail investors, which some institutional investors see as reducing returns expectations for these funds.” Antoine Colson, CEO & Managing Partner, IPEM

Fundraising market reflects depth of mid-market and secondaries.

The data from GPs attending the event indicates that they are in tune with the sentiments of LPs and are building products, honing strategies, and even launching new firms to meet this evolving demand. The growing number of mid-market funds in attendance is increasingly focused on three or fewer sectors. Fund I and IIs will be well-represented at the event, notably those managed by spin-out teams, and more secondaries strategies are in operation in every asset class than ever before.

This is all happening in the context of a fundraising market that continues to show little sign of getting out of first gear, and so the stakes are higher than ever for GPs in an increasingly competitive, nuanced, and sophisticated environment. Navigating these challenges and meeting the changing needs of institutional LPs successfully will leave firms well-placed to build long-term success.

“We’ve seen large numbers of spin-out managers launching in the past couple of years. More senior investors than ever are leaving their employers to launch their own firm, in fact the most in the history of private equity.” Nicolas Beaugrand, France PE and ESG Lead – Partner and Managing Director, AlixPartners

Key trends in LP demand:

• Allocation intentions of the LPs in attendance total €100bn, and LPs are set to make fewer large allocations as IPEM Paris attracts more investors with less than €500m AUM
• LPs are becoming more targeted and sophisticated in their approach, and GPs are reacting by offering more co-investment and secondaries opportunities in private equity, and more returns-driven strategies such as asset-backed lending in private debt
• LP appetite continues to be strongest for private equity and private debt, and real assets is now more sought-after than venture capital
• LPs strongly indicate a desire to back new GP relationships over re-ups, and investors at the event hope to make more than 3,300 commitments to new GP relationships over the next 12 months
• Sentiment among LPs on the US cools significantly on last year, with just 67% looking to make commitments there in the next 12 months, down from 76% last year
• Mid-market funds are highly sought-after as LPs focus on finding the highest-quality, best-performing managers
• LPs are leveraging the secondaries market to finetune portfolios, with 50% of those in attendance looking at private equity secondaries funds in the coming 12 months

Key trends in GP supply: 

• GPs at this year’s event are less likely to be fundraising than last year, and funds currently in the market are expecting to take longer to close
• There is also robust LP interest in emerging managers, especially spin-out teams, and more than 175 emerging managers will be present at the event
• GPs are meeting LP demand for mid-market offerings, and the majority of funds in the space are focused on just three or fewer sectors to differentiate from peers
• There is a significant increase in the number of GPs operating secondaries strategies across all asset classes at this year’s event