We believe the lower middle market remains one of private equity’s most durable and least crowded sources of outperformance. In our latest research report, we examine the data behind our thesis and explain why we think disciplined manager selection creates a distinct edge.
In this mid-year follow-up to our 2026 Outlook, we revisit the four themes shaping this year's markets—AI's debt-financed buildout, accelerating private market access, biotech's continued momentum, and a slowly healing real estate market—and take stock of what's playing out as anticipated and what isn’t.
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1 Returns are not guaranteed.
2 To select impact investments, GEM utilizes the GEM IMP Framework, a comprehensive model adapted from the Impact Management Project’s Impact Management “norms” and Impact Classes and applied by GEM to assess impact by evaluating investment strategies and managers, including but not limited to the impact of portfolio companies on key stakeholders and investment managers’ contributions to impact. For more information on the Impact Management Project, please see https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/. For the avoidance of doubt, GEM reserves the right to modify the GEM IMP Framework and its application.