Goldman survey finds 37% of LPs plan to commit more capital

37% of institutional LPs expect to commit more private markets capital than last year, according to Goldman Sachs's 2026 global alternatives survey of 225 investors.

Another 47% of institutional LPs plan to hold their private markets exposure where it is, and 11% intend to deploy less. Planned increases outnumber planned cuts by more than three to one. Goldman fielded the survey between June and August 2026 among public and private pensions, insurers, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds and family offices; respondents split almost evenly between the Americas and EMEA, with less than 20% in APAC. The survey tracks private markets commitments overall, not private credit alone. Alternative Credit Investor first reported the findings.

When LPs add a manager, 78% say track record matters most, half cite access to new strategies or asset classes, 39% specialist expertise and 35% diversification across sectors or regions. For an allocator evaluating a new private credit manager, that means a documented record is the first filter; specialist expertise and diversification rank well behind it. Most LPs also report that a meaningful share of the past 12 months' commitments were re-ups with existing general partners, leaving new managers to compete for what those re-ups do not take.

In October, Goldman Sachs and Phoenix Financial agreed a private credit partnership under which the Israeli asset manager would deploy more than $4bn into Goldman Sachs Alternatives' private investment-grade, senior direct lending and opportunistic credit capabilities.

For first-time and second-time private credit funds, that combination means a slower raise: even with 37% of LPs planning to commit more, the additional capital is likely to concentrate among managers already on LP approved lists.