Global Alternatives Survey: The GP View

GPs are recalibrating rather than reinventing their alternatives businesses, prioritizing traditional fundraising and exits while expanding their use of AI.

• The survey draws on responses from 36 general partners worldwide and examines distributions, capital formation, strategy offerings, value creation and AI.
• Valuations were the biggest exit obstacle: 65% ranked them among the top three challenges, up from 60% in 2025; macroeconomic uncertainty followed at 50%.
• Fundraising ambitions recovered, with 65% targeting a next flagship fund larger than its predecessor, versus 52% in 2025, while drawdown funds and co-investment remain more common than evergreen vehicles.
• Only 35% of GPs offer evergreen strategies, compared with 79% offering co-investment and 71% offering drawdown funds; just over one-third consider retail capital a high priority.
• AI was the top expected driver of change over the next five years for 47% of respondents, ahead of business-cycle turns at 19%; 77% use or are considering AI to reduce costs, although roughly one-quarter cite integration as a top challenge.

Takeaway: Private-market managers are broadening their financial and technological toolkits, but the survey points to incremental adaptation rather than wholesale change, with traditional exits, institutional capital and drawdown structures still dominant.