LPs steady on private markets allocations as secondaries demand rises – Coller Capital

• Investors split on how managers are handling liquidity, with 40% of LPs saying GPs are striking the right balance, 39% saying they are not providing it early enough

• Continuation vehicles and private credit secondaries expected to see sustained growth, according to Coller’s report

• The Barometer reveals 40% of LPs expect CV activity to increase, 31% expect it to decrease, and 29% foresee stable levels

June 25, 2026 (Preqin First Close | Preqin News) – The share of investors looking to increase their target allocations to private markets over the next 12 months has fallen to 31% so far this year, down from 38% in 2025, according to Coller Capital’s 2026 Global Private Capital Barometer.

Meanwhile, the proportion of LPs expecting to reduce allocations over the next 12 months has tripled to 12%, up from 4% in Coller's 2025 survey – while 57% expect them to remain the same.

Secondaries manager Coller Capital, bought by EQT in January, says that LPs are continuing to deploy capital into private market ‘even as world events take an unpredictable turn’.

‘Indeed, on the face of it, LPs appear sanguine about geopolitics when making allocation decisions. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents overall say there is no change to how much the geopolitical environment and outlook are influencing their current allocation decisions,’ the report says.

The Barometer reveals that secondaries are expected to see the largest rise in allocation targets, with 33% of LPs looking to increase exposure. Meanwhile, 54% are looking to keep allocations the same, and 13% to decrease them.

According to Coller, private markets investors also expect an increase in ‘zombie funds’ as GPs extend fund life to ‘maximize management fees’. Longer holding periods and the elevated entry valuations paid by private equity managers before interest rates rose ‘appear to be coming home to roost in investor portfolios’, it says.

Over half (54%) of LPs that responded to Coller’s survey expect the number of zombie funds to increase over the next two years, while 31% expect no change and 15% anticipate a decline. The findings build on the firm’s summer 2024 survey results, when 48% of LPs reported already holding zombie funds, and 28% said they expected them to emerge later in the cycle.

In response, investors are taking a pragmatic approach when dealing with zombie funds, says Coller. Over half of respondents (54%) prefer management fee step downs, while 18% favor manager incentive resets to encourage timely exits. Meanwhile, 11% would take a more proactive approach and seek manager removal/replacement, and 6% say they would refuse a fund extension. Only 11% would not take action.

The survey shows investors are also split on how managers are handling liquidity in the current environment. While 40% of LPs say that GPs are generally striking the right balance between returning and creating capital, 39% say GPs are not providing liquidity early enough. Another 22% say some of the best companies are being sold too early.

LPs and GPs face a trade-off between securing near-term liquidity and maximizing long-term returns, secondary strategies have come to the fore in private markets fundraising and deal-making.

‘With LPs seeking liquidity and managing their portfolios more actively, secondaries transaction volume has increased substantially in recent years across all private-market asset types. Of these, LPs expect private credit secondaries to see the greatest proportional growth in the next three years,’ says Coller.

Continuation vehicles (CVs) are also expected to remain a feature of the market, even if traditional exit routes recover. The report reveals that 40% of LPs expect CV activity to increase, 31% expect it to decrease, and 29% foresee stable levels.

A new version of the CV model is also emerging. Within ‘CV squared’ structures, assets are rolled from one CV into another managed by the same GP.

Coller Capital’s summer 2026 Global Private Capital Barometer surveyed 108 investors representing over $2.00tn in AUM. The respondents were based in Europe (44%), North America (36%), APAC (14%), and the rest of the world (6%). Investor types included banks/asset managers (investing third-party funds only) (21%), insurance companies (17%), and public pension funds (16%), among others.

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