PEI Private Equity Spotlight Hamilton Lane's Hirsch: Private markets industry has too many GPs
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Oct 22, 2026 
Erik Hirsch, executive co-chairman of Hamilton Lane and a veteran private-markets investor, examines an industry crowded with too many managers. He explores weak exits, stranded funds, zombie vehicles, and the evolving role of secondaries. Hirsch also compares private and public-market performance and explains why AI is prompting more selective, not less, software investing.
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Why Private-Market Exits Still Feel Lackluster
- Private-market exits remain weak relative to assets under management despite strong absolute liquidity.
- Longer holding periods, challenged assets, limited multiple expansion, and zombie managers are keeping supply stuck.
Fundraising Data Misses Private-Market Capital
- Traditional fundraising data misses capital flowing into secondaries, co-investments, and evergreen funds.
- Institutional investors increasingly use evergreen vehicles, redirecting money that once entered closed-end funds.
Too Many Managers Are Diluting Private Equity Talent
- Manager performance dispersion remains as wide as it was decades ago because talent, selection, and asset management drive outcomes.
- Hirsch argues the industry has too many managers, not merely a temporary fundraising problem.