Private equityfunds
Allocators with capacity for your strategy in a market where capital is concentrating in the largest managers.
- 01Raises
- Lower and mid-market buyout, growth
- 02Allocators
- Pensions · Insurers · Funds of funds · Family offices · Wealth
- 03Evidence
- Commitments to comparable funds this cycle
- 04Delivery
- Booked LP meetings
Since 2024, 77% of private equity capital has gone to funds of more than $1bn.
The middle market is struggling to win new allocations even where it is winning on performance. Only 36 first-time PE funds closed globally in the first half of 2026, against 312 in 2022.
Of PE capital since 2024 went to funds over $1bn, against 63.6% in 2014–16
First-time PE funds closed globally in H1 2026, against 312 in 2022
Fewer US PE funds closed through Q3 2026 than a year earlier
Median hold at exit for 2024–25 exits, up from 3.2 years
Capital concentrating in the largest managers
Buyout fundraising fell 16% to $395bn in 2025, and the number of buyout funds closed fell 23%, a fourth straight year of decline.
Slower exits mean slower distributions, and LPs typically need twelve to eighteen months of improving exits before allocations rise. The allocators who are committing now are the ones to find.
Who still has room for a mid-sized manager
Large institutions are concentrating commitments in fewer, larger relationships. Capacity for smaller managers sits with family offices, the private-wealth channel, specialist funds of funds and pensions with a lower-middle-market allocation.
| Allocator | Appetite | Typical cheque | Decision cycle | Where deployment shows first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private-wealth channelEvergreen funds, feeders, RIAs | Growing | $5–50m via platforms | Platform due diligence, 3–9 months | Platform approvals, feeder Form D filings |
| Family officesSingle and multi | Active | $5–25m | Weeks to months | Fund and co-investment announcements |
| Funds of funds and secondaries buyersSpecialist | Selective | $10–50m | 3–9 months | Commitment announcements, fund filings |
| Public pensionsLower-middle-market allocations | Selective | $20–100m | 6–18 months; consultant-led | Board minutes, consultant memos |
| Endowments and foundationsInstitutional | Cautious | $10–40m | 6–12 months | Annual reports, 990-PF schedules |
| InsurersGeneral and life accounts | Selective | $25m and above | 6–12 months | Statutory Schedule BA filings |
| Sovereign investorsGlobal | Concentrated in large managers | $100m and above | 12 months and more | Announcements, co-investment disclosures |
Allocators whose last commitment looks like you
Public pensions publish their commitments, often before the fund announces a close. We read those approvals, plus filings and announcements, for commitments to funds of your size, strategy and vintage, and work from there to the decision-maker.
The public record of allocation
- Pension board packets, minutes and consultant memos
- Fund-close announcements that name their LPs
- Insurer, foundation and adviser filings
- DFI disclosures, hires and liquidity events
Fit to the mandate
- Strategy, sector and stage
- Cheque band against fund or round size
- Pacing, vintage and programme limits
- Emerging-manager and first-close appetite
Dated, per allocator
- Most recent comparable commitment
- Managers or companies backed this cycle
- Named decision-maker and route in
- The source, cited on the row
Booked, not broadcast
- Approach framed to the allocator's thesis
- Consent obtained before your calendar
- Materials sequenced to their process
- Follow-through into diligence
Board approved $40m to a lower-middle-market buyout Fund IIIBoard minutes
Consultant recommended two further LMM commitments this yearConsultant memo in board packet
Private-equity target raised by two pointsAnnual investment plan
Illustrative record. Details are composite and do not describe a real allocator.
Commitments, not profiles
We start from approvals in the minutes, which show who is committing now and at what size.
Consultants mapped
For institutional LPs, the consultant who gates the decision is named on the record.
What a buyout manager is choosing between
Placement agents are the incumbent for established managers above their size floor. Below it, or alongside one, the need is a current and evidenced allocator list.
| QuantiverseEvidence-led, booked | Placement agentsFull-service fundraising | LP databasesAllocator data platforms | Fundraising agenciesOutreach as a service | Own networkThe GP's relationships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available to first-time and emerging raises | Yes | Above a size floor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Allocators deploying now, not historically | Dated in the last cycle | Partly | Periodic refresh | No | Partly |
| Evidence attached to every allocator | Source and date cited | Held privately | Profile fields | No | No |
| List built for this sector and this raise | Yes | Yes | Filters | Partly | No |
| Conversations booked | Yes | Yes | Self-serve | Partly | Yes |
From general partners and IR teams
Specific to this raise. General questions are answered on the practice page.
01We already have a placement agent. Is there a role?
Often. Agents concentrate on the institutions they know best. We cover the allocators outside that list, with evidence, and coordinate so nobody is approached twice.
02Can you help with a continuation vehicle or a co-investment?
Yes. Single-asset and co-investment raises are covered on their own page.
Capacity exists, if you know where to look
- 01The fundTarget, hard cap, first-close date and commitments to date.
- 02The strategySize band, sectors, value creation and realised track record.
- 03The LP baseRe-ups expected, and who has declined.