Private Equity Spotlight

Clear succession plans, steadily growing fund sizes, realistic marks and genuinely effective operating partners are among the things LPs need to see from a GP before making an allocation in the current environment.

That’s according to Young Lee, a managing director at New York-headquartered fund-of-funds manager Abbott Capital, speaking on the latest episode of PEI Group’s Commitment Issues podcast series. The episode, hosted by PEI’s Chris Witkowsky, addressed the perennial topic of private equity fundraising, with Lee noting that from an LP’s perspective, “almost always a bigger fund size is bad”.

“We would love the same thing every time, people still being happy even though they’re making the same amount of money,” he said. “[Because] what we’re looking for really is whether the GP is staying in their strategy.”

Jack Purcell, a managing partner at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Ridgemont Equity Partners, countered that “some growth is a sign of progress” for GPs. Not only does a bigger fund size “communicate progress and the vibrancy of the partnership externally to investors and other counterparties”, he suggested, but “the ability to have a critical mass of assets under management and fee income to invest” matters too.

Meanwhile, on the topic of value creation, Lee warned that while “a lot of LPs focus a lot on the operations side and often value the partners who have operating experience”, this can sometimes equate to “smoke and mirrors”, where “either they’re not effective people or GPs aren’t using them effectively”.

Finally, Purcell and Lee agreed on the urgent need for more detailed succession planning at the GP level. “The amazing thing to me is that, for an industry comprised of really competitive, really smart, Type-A people who plan everything – plan their day, plan their hour, plan the minute – to not have a plan is almost comical,” Purcell said.

The views, opinions, and statements expressed by the individuals in this episode are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or official positions of their firms or their affiliates. Nothing in this episode should be construed as investment, legal or tax advice, or as an offer or solicitation to invest in any fund or vehicle managed by the firms or any other party. Statements regarding past performance are not indicative of future results.

This episode is sponsored by Troutman Pepper Locke and Withum

Managers face an increasing set of expectations and obligations as the fees and expenses landscape continues to evolve. According to Private Funds CFO’s Fees & Expenses Survey 2026, conducted in partnership with advisory and accounting firm Withum and law firm Troutman Pepper Locke, nearly 80 percent of respondents reported that they experienced moderate to heavy scrutiny during their last SEC exam. These respondents were drawn from 132 US alternative asset managers.

Investors are also taking a keen interest in cost allocation and disclosure practices. With structures such as continuation vehicles growing in popularity, its raising questions around the ambiguity of fund documentation, with many LPAs devised before these entities went mainstream. When faced with fees and expenses allocation questions not addressed in the documentation, managers are generally favouring a conservative response, with nearly two-thirds of respondents consulting with outside counsel.

Moreover, the survey looks at how managers are preparing for an influx of retail capital, as well as examining the impact of AI on management fees.

So, what does the push for greater transparency mean for managers? To unpack this further, PEI’s senior content producer, Evie Rusman, is joined in this episode by Colleen Fay, financial services practice leader at Withum; Theodore Edwards, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke; and Bill Myers, Washington correspondent for Private Funds CFO. Together, they analyse the survey data and discuss how regulatory activity and market forces could reshape the industry going forward.

This is the fifth episode in PEI Group’s Data Dive miniseries, where we dig into our proprietary data, surveys and rankings, as well as recent market data sets, to understand what investors and fund managers are thinking, and how private markets are evolving. Listen to previous episodes here.

This year's Global Investor 150 – Private Equity International's annual ranking of the largest private equity LPs in the world based on the fair market value of their PE investment portfolios – reveals a total of $2.88 trillion was allocated to the asset class by the featured investors as of end-December 2025. This represents an increase of almost 9 percent on the previous year.

Investors appeared to prioritise long-term strategy over short-term market conditions, maintaining confidence in private equity despite a challenging fundraising and exit environment. Rather than stepping back from the asset class, many are refining how they deploy capital, with greater interest in the mid-market and increasingly sophisticated portfolio construction strategies.

PEI Group’s senior content producer Evie Rusman was joined by Carmela Mendoza and Katrina Lau, both senior reporters at PEI, to break down the findings and explore what this signals about the private equity landscape.

This is the fourth episode in PEI Group’s new Data Dive miniseries, where we dig into our proprietary data, surveys and rankings, as well as recent market data sets, to understand what investors and fund managers are thinking, where capital is moving and how the asset class is evolving.

Stay tuned for the next episode, which will provide insight into affiliate title Private Funds CFO’s Fees and Expenses 2026 Survey.

In the world of European venture capital, very few names carry the same weight as Dame Anne Glover. She co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners in 1997 when the idea of a dedicated British deep-tech investment firm was, by most accounts, a little eccentric.

London–headquartered Amadeus has backed more than 200 companies over its almost three-decade-long history. Glover herself has chaired both the UK and European private capital associations and this year was awarded a DBE – one of the highest honours in the British system – for outstanding contributions to science and engineering.

In this episode, we sit in on a live conversation – recorded at PEI Group’s London headquarters for a PEI Presents discussion – between Dame Anne Glover and senior editor Adam Le. Topics include: the persistent gap in the UK's funding ladder, the untapped potential of British defined contribution pension schemes, what the AI boom means for investors, and the "SaaSpocalypse."

Defence investing has been one of the hottest topics in European private equity over the past year. Firms including Warburg Pincus, PEI Group owner Bridgepoint, Carlyle Group and Tikehau Capital have all launched strategies or are mulling them, while LPs such as AkademikerPension, PensionDanmark, M&G Investments, PenSam and Finnish pension insurer Varma have either already invested in PE defence strategies or are considering doing so.

In this episode, senior editor Adam Le sits down with EMEA editor for investor intelligence Joe Marsh to delve into the types of strategies LPs are looking for in the defence arena; the challenges that come with exiting defence assets; the role that ESG plays in LPs' investment policies; and why the themes of security, sovereignty and resilience are increasingly on investors' minds.

Find all Private Equity International's defence-related coverage here.