Alıcılar, ortak yatırımın ve birincil fonların tutulmasına yönlendirildiğini söylüyor

Co-investment and directs to eclipse primary funds, buyers say

Wed, September 16, 2026 at 2:28 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• HLI -2.97%

Grant Faint/Getty Images

Investors expect that PE direct investments and co-investments will overtake traditional fund investing as the largest capital source within five years, according to a survey that exposes the shifting dynamics in LP-GP relations.

Investment bank Houlihan Lokey's LP Compass, its first survey of the combined co-investment and directs market, polled 56 of the market's most active buyers. Some 78% expect combined volumes to set a record in 2026, beating the $215 billion the bank estimates the market reached last year: a record $161 billion in directs and $54 billion in co-investment.

Sign up for The Europe Pitch

Get our daily digest of private capital markets in the EMEA region.

Subscribe

The reasoning, per the report, comes down to visibility. Investors can underwrite a specific asset and model its returns directly, which is not possible when committing blindly to a primary fund.

As LPs look for more direct and co-investment opportunities, almost three in four survey respondents said they are willing to pay variable carry on co-investments, tied to managers meeting certain return thresholds. Directs buyers are less willing: 46% would accept variable carry, and just 13% would pay more than 20%. More than a quarter of co-investors still insist on paying no carry at all.

In Europe in particular, the appetite for co-investment opportunities is reflected in the fundraising for co-investment funds, which are commingled vehicles that invest directly in companies alongside the general partners.

These funds have already raised €6.3 billion (around $7.3 billion) so far this year, nearly on par with the €7.2 billion raised in all of last year, according to PitchBook data. However, capital is increasingly concentrated, as the number of funds fell for a fourth consecutive year to just 14 closes.

Pantheon Global Co-investment Opportunities Fund VI was among the largest co-investment funds to close this year, raising $3.2 billion together with its related vehicles. The fund, which was closed in July, followed the firm's record deployment of around $1.3 billion across 30 co-investment deals last year.

Partners Capital Investment Group also held the final close of Merlin IV in February, raising over $1 billion in commitments. The strategy focuses on lower mid-market and mid-market buyouts.

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News