Introduction
Six months ago, allocators were aggressively hunting for new hedge fund managers. Today, that appetite has shifted – and the implications for the industry are many.
Our comprehensive survey of over 100 global allocators spanning pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and endowments, reveals a rapidly evolving sentiment. Confidence in hedge funds has surged to record levels, yet deployment has become markedly more selective.
-
Tom Kehoe
Managing Director, Global Head of Research and Communications, AIMA
-
Manas Pratap Singh
Head of Hedge Fund Research, Hedgeweek
Key highlights
- The manager hunt may be over – active new manager-seeking dropped from 40% to 18%
- Allocators are going back to basics in what they actually want from hedge funds, with one metric surging by 19 percentage points since June 2025
- Global macro has slipped one spot as the top strategy preference despite ongoing geopolitical tensions
- AI may now be a capital-raising buzzword, but what exactly are allocators looking at more closely when making investment decisions
- Allocators explain why SMA demand seems to be cooling after years of strong growth
- Fee expectations are shifting, with a new reference point emerging
The data paints a picture of sophisticated institutions moving from portfolio reconstruction to optimisation. For hedge fund managers, the message is clear – but you'll need to read the full report to understand what it means for capital raising in the months ahead.
Download report
Click here to download the complete Hedgeweek®-AIMA Allocator Sentiment Report, sponsored by Alphasense, to discover the trends shaping hedge fund allocation in H1 2026.
For more information, contact Tom Kehoe, Managing Director, Global Head of Research and Communications at AIMA: [email protected]