37% of LPs Plan to Deploy More Than Last Year, Down From 43%, and Slow Distributions Are the Top Constraint, a Survey of 225 Finds

A global survey of 225 limited partners and other institutional investors, fielded between June and August 2026 and reported on 23 October, finds that appetite for private markets is intact but less expansive than a year ago. In total, 84% plan to hold or increase their pace of deployment over the next 12 months, against 83% in the prior survey. The share planning to deploy more than last year is 37%, down from 43%, while 47% expect to keep their current pace and about 11% plan to deploy less, down from 14%. Those groups add to 95%, and the summaries we reviewed do not say what the remaining 5% reported.

What the survey found

Slow distributions are the most frequently cited factor in deployment plans, at 35% against 31% last year, followed by changes to allocation targets at 29%. Geopolitical tension is the top investment risk for a third year running. On allocation, 48% of LPs say they are under-allocated to private credit (43% last year), 41% to infrastructure (45%), 33% to private equity (35%) and 31% to real estate (26%). Real estate also has the highest share of over-allocated LPs, at 18%, down from 25%.

The outlook by asset class

Infrastructure and secondaries are the most favoured strategies: 43% of LPs see infrastructure as more favourable against 7% less favourable, and 44% see secondaries as more favourable against 15% less. Private credit stands out, with 35% seeing it as less favourable, the largest rise in negative views, even though 65% see its opportunities as unchanged or better. All of these are shares of respondents, and the summaries we reviewed give no capital-weighted figures.

How it compares

LPs are not leaving the asset class, but fewer are adding to it, and the constraint they name most is cash coming back. We covered a related pattern earlier this month, when 52% of Canadian institutions said they plan to cut US equity, and our playbook on raising a fund while LPs wait for distributions looks at the same constraint from the GP side. Warmth toward the secondary market, at 44%, fits with investors looking for liquidity, though that is our reading.

What it means for GPs

This is our reading, not the survey's. First, private credit is the clearest split: the largest under-allocation sits beside the largest rise in negative views, so a credit manager should expect LPs to want a reason, not just a gap in their target. Second, with fewer LPs planning to deploy more, the pool of new cheques is not growing by default, so a GP raising a fund should plan for competition over a flat or slightly smaller number of increases. Third, when distributions are the top constraint, evidence of realized cash will carry more weight than a forecast. Our companion piece on how to write outreach that leads with realized results turns the manager-selection findings into practical steps.

What to watch next

Watch whether the share planning to deploy more recovers as distributions improve, and whether private credit sentiment stabilises. FundLinx members can see which LPs are active in your strategy.

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