2025 Recap | 2026 Outlook | April 2026
In the latest paper from our GP Solutions team, we examine four structural forces that shaped the private equity market in 2025: LP capital consolidating with fewer managers at scale, an exit backlog that has kept distributions materially below historical norms, fee compression reshaping the economics of the PE fund model, and rising GP commitment expectations as LPs demand greater alignment of interests. While these dynamics are broadly felt across private equity, our observations are grounded in the middle and lower-middle market, where we operate and where these pressures have been most acute.
Throughout this paper, we explore how each of these dynamics shapes the NAV lending and GP financing landscape in the middle and lower-middle market, and what they may signal for 2026. For managers that understand how these forces interact, a well-calibrated capital strategy can, in our view, be a meaningful source of competitive advantage.