Survey: Limited Partner Interest in Alternatives Hits 5-Year High, Fund Managers Back in Favor

Global LPs Also Ranked Top AI Priorities and Overhyped Tech Trends in Dynamo Software’s 5th Annual LP Survey

BOSTON, September 16, 2026–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dynamo Software, a leading provider of AI-powered technology for alternative investments, today released comprehensive results from its 5th annual survey of global Limited Partners (LPs). The nearly 30-page report outlines how sentiment has shifted over the past half-decade on a number of topics, from the way asset allocators invest to the technology priorities they choose.

The fifth edition of the Dynamo Frontline Insight Report: Trends, Challenges, and Insights from Global Limited Partners explores near real-time perspectives, drawing on survey responses gathered in July and August 2026.

The research yielded five important takeaways for the private investment market:

• Asset allocators’ appetite for alternatives investments (ALTS) has never been higher.

• Fund managers remain the dominant route into ALTS, but co-investments are gaining momentum, reaching a five-year peak this year.

• As a destination for capital, Asia saw a notable decline in 2026, while U.S. and Canada stayed on top.

• Cost has inched below efficiency as the most important technology consideration.

• Among workflows, managing documents and data are where LPs struggle the most.

LPs lean into ALTS

A commanding 63% of LPs now plan to increase their allocations to ALTS over the coming year, the strongest reading ever measured by the Dynamo survey. While intent has remained consistently high in recent years, including 55% in 2022 and 54% in 2025, the nine-point jump in 2026 signals a meaningful acceleration.

“The past few years have been characterized by rate uncertainty and repricing across asset classes, which understandably put LPs in a guarded posture,” said Hank Boughner, Dynamo CEO. “What we’re seeing now is LPs much more confidently moving from caution to conviction, increasingly looking to alternatives not just for diversification, but as a bigger part of the return equation.”

Fund managers remain LPs’ top channel into private markets

Reliance on fund managers rebounded in 2026 after two consecutive years of decline in 2025 and 2024. Seventy-eight percent of LPs said they plan to use fund managers to invest in ALTS. At the same time, plans for co-investments climbed to a multi-year high, with 64% planning to explore this more direct approach.

Together, the trends suggest LPs are seeking broader exposure to ALTS while maintaining greater control over how and where they invest.

North America reasserts itself as top geographic region for investment

North America regained ground in 2026, with more than half of LPs planning to direct capital toward the U.S. and Canada, reversing a steady decline since 2022. Europe held largely steady, reinforcing its position as a durable second priority for institutional allocators. Asia moved in the opposite direction, with LP intent falling sharply from 23% in 2025 to just 12% in 2026.

The findings suggest LPs are becoming increasingly selective about where they commit capital, weighing risk and return more deliberately across regions.

LPs look to AI to get more from existing resources, favor practical innovation over hype

For the first time, the 2026 survey asked LPs which AI capabilities would be most valuable for their firms. Their responses highlighted a focus on doing more with existing resources. The most valuable AI-related capability, with more than half of respondents citing it as their top priority, was “automated data extraction from manager reports, capital calls and notices.” “Portfolio monitoring and anomaly detection” was the second most popular choice, followed closely by “summarization of investment memos, due diligence materials and meeting notes.” All three describe workflows that are necessary, yet time-consuming. In other words, ripe for greater efficiency through AI.

That aligns with another notable shift in this year’s findings. Creating efficiencies and optimizing workflows emerged as LPs’ top technology priority, ranking ahead of cost considerations, which now rank second. The finding suggests LPs increasingly view technology not simply as a budget line item to manage, but as a means of getting more from existing resources.

“We don’t see cost discipline ever going away. What’s changing is the path LPs see to achieving it,” said Boughner. “Certainly, AI is changing the economics of efficiency. For LPs, the math starts to look different when technology allows the same team to accomplish significantly more.”

LP focus on efficiency is also reflected in where they expect fund managers to direct their investments. Generative AI claimed the top spot, followed by automation, hyperautomation and edge computing.

At the same time, LPs drew a clear distinction between technologies they see as promising and those they believe have received more attention than warranted. When asked to identify what’s overhyped in the investment and technology space, LPs pointed firmly toward consumer-facing technologies. Metaverse and virtual reality (53%) topped the list, followed by cryptocurrencies and blockchain (45%). At the other end of the spectrum, biotech and genomics (7%) was viewed as the least overhyped.

LP operational progress is offset by persistent challenges

Across core workflows, LPs continue to report strong performance in some areas and persistent challenges in others. LPs expressed particularly strong satisfaction with their teams’ approaches to investment research and due diligence. They also gave high marks to their teams’ ability to perform portfolio monitoring and analysis.

Document and data management, on the other hand, remains LPs’ most persistent pain point. Poor ratings for this capability climbed from 16% to 20% year over year, meaning document and data management once again registered the highest dissatisfaction rate across all five workflow areas evaluated.

Additional LP trends available in report

The full Frontline Insight report includes many more insights about from global LP sentiment, trends and plans for the near future. Charts and graphs for each of the report’s findings are available by contacting media@dynamosoftware.com.

About Dynamo’s Frontline Insight Reports

Published quarterly, Dynamo’s Frontline Insight Reports contain primary research obtained through online surveys of targeted alternative investor audiences. The survey results are contextualized by Dynamo subject matter experts in formal Frontline research reports. To date, Dynamo’s research team has focused on delivering noteworthy insights related to the attitudes, predictions, and strategic plans that Limited Partners (LPs), General Partners (GPs), Hedge Funds, Emerging Managers, and Fund Accountants have on a number of alternative investment topics. To learn more about Dynamo’s research reports, visit the Resource Library or contact media@dynamosoftware.com.

About Dynamo Software, Inc.

Dynamo Software is the leading end-to-end, AI-powered platform for alternative investment management, designed to centralize, streamline, and automate front-to-back-office investment operations for both General and Limited Partners. Trusted by over 1,000 global clients managing more than $10T in AUM, Dynamo supports the full investment lifecycle, including deal management, investor relations, portfolio monitoring, fund accounting, research, and portfolio management—all within a single, secure platform. With DynamoAI at its core, the platform empowers private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, and fund of funds teams to operate more efficiently, gain deeper insights into investments and relationships, and make faster, more confident decisions at every stage of the investment process. Dynamo has a global footprint with operations across North America, EMEA, APAC, and UAE. For more information, please visit DynamoSoftware.com.

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