LP Intelligence Report – On the Ground at SuperReturn International

Introduction: The latest mood music from LPs in Berlin

Each year, Berlin brings together the global private markets community in a way few events can match. Nowhere else do LPs speak as candidly about the state of the industry, the challenges they face and where they see opportunities emerging. If you want a real-time pulse check on investor sentiment, this is the place to be.

This year, that sentiment was shaped by a market in transition. From growing performance dispersion and the evolution of private credit to the rise of AI and the continued expansion of secondaries, conversations repeatedly returned to one central question: which managers are best positioned to navigate an increasingly complex and disruptive environment?

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LPs are looking to back GPs that can withstand disruption in new era of uncertainty.

"Are GPs long-term strategies suitable to the new environment? How have they been generating returns? Can you generate a 12 when 5 was enough before?"

Charlotte Morris, Partner, Pantheon

• In an environment where disruptions have become a new constant, LPs are looking for GPs that can adapt quickly.
• Operational adaptability is becoming a key diligence factor: investors want to understand how managers respond to market shocks, higher interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, and technological disruption.
• Value creation matters more than financial engineering: LPs are increasingly focused on how GPs generate returns through operational improvements, strategic growth initiatives, and active ownership.
• Resilience is a competitive advantage: managers that can demonstrate consistent performance across different market cycles are likely to attract more capital.

Dispersion of returns: LPs are increasingly discerning about what drives performance

"There will be managers who stuck with their DNA and continued with their solid underwriting, and there will be managers who were making flow investments just trying to meet the velocity of the capital that was coming in, and you'll have a dispersion of returns."

John Toomey, CEO, Harbourvest

• Market conditions are testing investment strategies that performed well during the bull years. LPs increasingly expect a widening gap between top-performing and average managers, making manager selection more important than ever.
• Some investors are shifting toward the mid-market, where they believe there is still meaningful alpha and less competition. Others are consolidating relationships and concentrating capital with a smaller group of established mega-fund managers.
• Europe continues to be viewed as an attractive opportunity, with LPs weighing whether to build exposure through a diversified portfolio of specialist mid-market managers to maximise alpha , or concentrate commitments with a handful of mega-funds that offer scale, efficiency and broader regional coverage.
• Underwriting discipline is back in focus. Investors are placing greater emphasis on managers' ability to source attractive deals, create operational value and navigate uncertainty, including exit options.

LPs are getting smarter about secondaries and driving a broader shift towards more active portfolio management within private markets.

"CVs are providing liquidity. But it needs to be a good company, where you've treated LPs fairly and there is competition in terms of pricing."

Daina Haimoff, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, JP Morgan AM

• Secondaries have become a permanent feature of private markets, but investors are becoming increasingly selective assessing motivations, valuation and future exit pathways.
• LPs are getting more opportunities to decide whether to sell, roll, co-invest or increase exposure, getting greater visibility into underlying companies but also improving their portfolio management capabilities.
• The growth of continuation vehicles reflects a broader shift towards more active portfolio management within private markets, giving LPs greater optionality but also increasing the complexity of investment decision-making.
• Generating excess returns in secondaries is becoming harder, and manager selection within secondaries matters more than ever.

Integrating AI is becoming a non-negotiable driver of GP performance…but also a powerful due diligence tool for LPs

"AI will be a tool that will provide decision-making and AI teams will be increasingly internalized within funds rather than relying on third-party providers."

Rajiv Bakshi, Managing Director, Manulife Investment Management

• LPs increasingly see AI capability as a differentiator between managers. The question is no longer whether a GP is using AI, but how effectively it is being embedded into the investment process.
• LPs are seeing dedicated AI teams being built inside investment firms, AI tools supporting sourcing, due diligence and portfolio monitoring, and investment professionals increasingly expected to be AI-enabled.
• Investors expect GPs to have a clear AI strategy at both the fund and portfolio company level. The benefits of AI may not accrue evenly across the industry, potentially creating another layer of performance dispersion among GPs.
• AI is also being used at LP level to better assess the performance of underlying assets, providing a different viewpoint to GP reporting - as well as accelerating their decision-making process and making it more insightful.

LPs will continue to invest in private credit despite the noise around software valuations and retailisation concerns

"Institutional investors are continuing to be big believers of the excess returns that are available to private credit over other forms of credit."

John Toomey, CEO, Harbourvest

• For many LPs, private credit has evolved from a post-GFC niche allocation into a strategic portfolio component. They are increasingly treating private credit as a permanent allocation rather than a cyclical opportunity.
• They see private credit as helping offset some of the liquidity challenges elsewhere in private markets. In a world of ongoing volatility, certainty of cash flows has become almost as valuable to LPs as return potential.
• LPs are becoming increasingly focused on manager selection and credit discipline, with the next phase of the market likely to produce greater return dispersion. Many investors believe the most attractive opportunities will emerge in specialised areas of private credit, including asset-backed finance, as capital shifts away from crowded EBITDA-driven lending strategies.
• Most LPs are distinguishing between legitimate concerns around liquidity and structure, and broader fears about the asset class itself. Institutional investors generally support broader access to private credit for retail, but want reassurance that growth is not compromising underwriting standards or risk management.

In sum

Berlin 2026 came at a moment of significant disruption for private markets, from geopolitical uncertainty and AI-driven change to ongoing liquidity pressures. While the full implications have yet to play out, one thing is already clear: LP expectations are evolving.

Investors are looking beyond historical track records and placing greater emphasis on adaptability, value creation and resilience. AI emerged as both a source of opportunity and a new diligence tool, while growing performance dispersion is making manager selection more critical than ever.