The 2026 survey results suggest manager roster expansion will slow down significantly and managers can expect to work harder for investor capital, as only a net 2 per cent of allocators are planning to add new partners to their roster - a three-year low and a significant change from 2025 where 28 per cent of respondents were planning to add managers.

Direct inquiry is the most popular sourcing method for new managers, followed by strategic partnerships and consultant reach. Direct reach out from new managers is comparatively less likely to result in a mandate.

In private credit, a net 26 per cent of CIOs said they’re looking to increase manager allocations, followed by private equity with net 13 per cent, and venture capital with 11 per cent.

In times like these managers could pay more attention to demonstrating cultural compatibility with investors, this not only aligns with the investors’ needs but can be useful in differentiation from other managers with similar offerings. For example, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust CIO Elmer Huh says the fund has some quirky criteria in its process when it comes to evaluating new managers aside from performance and organisational matrix. 

The fund has a six month to three-year assessment period on any new managers which, albeit a prolonged process, ensures that it has high conviction in its decision – around six firms look after 60 per cent of the portfolio. 

“There’s an honour system involved in all this. I come from a Korean background, so there's a lot of cultural stuff that’s embedded in my own thinking about respect, partnership and collaboration. One of them is would we put them in front of our trustees – do they share the same value set, and have an appreciation or understanding of our mission and values as an organisation? 

“Would we be able to share a plane ride with them from the West Coast to the East Coast and feel good about that conversation?

“There's a lot of intangible or qualitative criteria that we go through from a principal base to say this is a manager that we're going to commit cap to, and we want to invest with them for the long term.”