Key Takeaways
- • Goldman Sachs Alternative Investment Project's 2026 Global Alternative Investment Survey, released October 22, 2026, finds 84% of LPs plan to execute more fund commitments than last year, with 37% expecting to increase pace and 47% maintaining it.
- • Only 11% of LPs said they would reduce private equity funding, despite distribution delays that 35% of LPs cited as the most decisive factor in their execution plans.
- • Geopolitical tensions ranked as the top investment risk for a third consecutive year, cited by 82% of LPs among their top five risks, with EMEA investors most concerned at 44%.
- • LPs are reallocating within private equity rather than retreating: 48% said they were under-allocated to private equity loans, and 11% of LPs cited AI-related job substitution as a risk.
- • Existing GP relationships dominate new commitments, with operational performance (78%) the most important factor when adding a new manager.
Summary
According to the 2026 Global Alternative Investment Survey released by Goldman Sachs Alternative Investment Project on October 22, institutional limited partners (LPs) intend to maintain private equity commitments at existing levels despite delays in distribution payments. Eighty-four percent of respondents said they would execute more funds than in the prior year, broadly in line with 83% last year, although the share expecting to expand execution fell from 43% to 37%. Forty-seven percent planned to maintain their pace, and only 11% expected to reduce funding, down from 14%.
Liquidity remains the central constraint. Thirty-five percent of LPs cited lack of distributions as the most influential factor in their fund execution plans, up from 31% a year earlier. Mark Nahman, global head of Goldman Sachs' asset management and wealth management division, said LPs are "never retreating from the market" but are reorganizing their strategies on where, with whom, and under what conditions they deploy capital. Stephanie Radar, global co-director of the firm's alternative investment business, said liquidity has become a competitive edge and that LPs are increasingly using the secondary market for asset allocation and cash flow management.
Geopolitical tensions were cited as the biggest investment risk for a third consecutive year. Inflation (67%) and a U.S. economic slowdown or recession (63%) followed. EMEA investors were most concerned, with 44% naming geopolitics as their single biggest risk, versus 31% in Asia-Pacific and 30% in the Americas. Twenty-eight percent of LPs flagged AI-driven job substitution among their top five risks. Jeff Fine, global director of Goldman Sachs' alternative investment business, said competition to build AI infrastructure represents the most significant opportunity of the decade.
On allocation, 48% of LPs said they were under-allocated to private equity loans, up from 43%, while the share over-allocated fell from 12% to 4%. Private equity shares showed 33% under-allocated, and real estate 31%. Sentiment varied by sector: 43% of LPs saw improving infrastructure prospects, and 44% saw improving secondary prospects versus 15% deteriorating. In private equity, 56% reported no change in outlook. Existing GP relationships dominate: most recent commitments were re-ups, and operational performance (78%) was the top criterion for adding a new manager.
The survey sampled 43% Americas, 40% EMEA, and 17% Asia-Pacific respondents, including pensions, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and RIAs, with 20% managing more than $100 billion. Korean institutions also participated.
Liquidity remains the central constraint. Thirty-five percent of LPs cited lack of distributions as the most influential factor in their fund execution plans, up from 31% a year earlier. Mark Nahman, global head of Goldman Sachs' asset management and wealth management division, said LPs are "never retreating from the market" but are reorganizing their strategies on where, with whom, and under what conditions they deploy capital. Stephanie Radar, global co-director of the firm's alternative investment business, said liquidity has become a competitive edge and that LPs are increasingly using the secondary market for asset allocation and cash flow management.
Geopolitical tensions were cited as the biggest investment risk for a third consecutive year. Inflation (67%) and a U.S. economic slowdown or recession (63%) followed. EMEA investors were most concerned, with 44% naming geopolitics as their single biggest risk, versus 31% in Asia-Pacific and 30% in the Americas. Twenty-eight percent of LPs flagged AI-driven job substitution among their top five risks. Jeff Fine, global director of Goldman Sachs' alternative investment business, said competition to build AI infrastructure represents the most significant opportunity of the decade.
On allocation, 48% of LPs said they were under-allocated to private equity loans, up from 43%, while the share over-allocated fell from 12% to 4%. Private equity shares showed 33% under-allocated, and real estate 31%. Sentiment varied by sector: 43% of LPs saw improving infrastructure prospects, and 44% saw improving secondary prospects versus 15% deteriorating. In private equity, 56% reported no change in outlook. Existing GP relationships dominate: most recent commitments were re-ups, and operational performance (78%) was the top criterion for adding a new manager.
The survey sampled 43% Americas, 40% EMEA, and 17% Asia-Pacific respondents, including pensions, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and RIAs, with 20% managing more than $100 billion. Korean institutions also participated.
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