Institutional Investor has created the Alpha Edge Buy List to address a question that has become increasingly urgent in private markets: As private equity and private credit firms hold assets longer, rely more heavily on continuation vehicles, and ask investors for fresh capital in place of distributions, are managers still aligned with their investors?
The Alpha Edge Buy List is designed to help answer that question.
The Alpha Edge Advisory Board, a group of leading institutions across North America and Europe, submitted Buy List nominations that were then reviewed by II’s editorial team and research specialists to ensure the final selection was independent and merit-based. Firms could not apply to be considered or pay to be included.
The review drew on publicly available information as well as managers’ responses to a detailed questionnaire focused on transparency, liquidity, and alignment. Topics included how firms report fees, return capital, and handle carried interest; whether they follow ILPA reporting standards; how they have generated distributions over the past five years; and whether they earned carry during periods of weaker performance. The result is not a performance ranking, but a recognition of firms whose practices reflect a sustained commitment to alignment with limited partners.
The inaugural Alpha Edge Buy List includes a mix of large, established managers and more specialized firms across private equity and private credit. As of publication, the following firms are on the 2026 Buy List:
- Apollo Global Management
- Goldman Sachs
- HarbourVest Partners
- Hg Capital
- Octopus Investments
- TPG
- 17 Capital
As private markets grow more complex and outcomes more uneven, alignment is no longer something firms can simply claim. It must be demonstrated over time. According to the investors who nominated them, the firms on this list have shown a willingness to engage directly with that challenge rather than sidestep it.
