Investment consultants and outsourced chief investment officers can help private funds reach the research and selection processes behind institutional LP portfolios. Cambridge Associates leads this guide because it publishes a clear private-manager process, including manager submissions and benchmark participation. Callan, Meketa, Albourne, RVK, Commonfund and several other firms publish routes that range from direct manager intake to databases, advertised searches, and general inquiries.
These are not 12 interchangeable LPs. Some advise investors, some make delegated investment decisions, and some also manage investment vehicles. None of the routes below guarantees a meeting, an introduction, a recommendation, or a commitment.
Research updated September 5, 2026. This guide is for venture capital, private equity, private credit, and real-assets fund managers building a consultant-relations process. It is research guidance, not individualized investment or legal advice.
Quick answer
Start with Cambridge Associates, Meketa, Callan, Albourne, RVK, and Commonfund when you need a public manager-specific route. Wilshire and Mercer can provide database visibility, while NEPC publishes search-specific opportunities. Marquette Associates, Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk, and bfinance are relevant research organizations, but their public pages do not establish a standing open application for every private fund. Qualify the exact team and mandate before sharing sensitive materials.
Know which role you are approaching
- Investment consultant: researches managers and advises an investor. The client may retain the final investment decision.
- Outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO): an external investment provider hired to manage some or all of an investor's portfolio under an agreed mandate. Its decision-making authority depends on the engagement.
- Limited partner: commits capital to a fund. An adviser serving LPs is not automatically an LP itself.
- Fund of funds: invests through other funds. A consulting group's fund-management business can play this role, but it should be tracked separately from its advisory work.
- Placement agent: works on a fund manager's fundraising and distribution. Do not assume an LP's consultant represents your fund or will introduce it to clients.
For direct allocator discovery, see LPs backing emerging fund managers and venture capital funds of funds. This article covers a different job: becoming a credible candidate for manager research.
Compare 12 investment consultants and OCIOs
The table is ordered by the usefulness and specificity of the public route, then alphabetically within similar route types. It is not a performance ranking. “Manager intake” means the firm explicitly invites manager information. “Database” means registration or data contribution, not approval. “Search-specific” means the published mandate controls eligibility. “General inquiry” is not evidence that unsolicited fund proposals are accepted.
| Firm | Relevant role | Public starting point | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Associates | Investment adviser with advisory and discretionary services | Manager submission and private-fund benchmark participation | Private and public managers have different review processes |
| Meketa Investment Group | Investment consultant and fiduciary or OCIO manager | Manager consideration form | Private-market submissions require supporting fund documents |
| Callan | Institutional consultant and OCIO provider | Manager database and asset-class meeting requests | Callan LLC is separate from Callan Family Office |
| Albourne | Alternatives investment consultant | MoatSpace manager access | Research visibility, not capital managed by Albourne |
| RVK | Institutional investment consultant | Asset-class research contacts and alternative-manager data access | Contact the research team rather than unrelated employees |
| Commonfund OCIO | Discretionary adviser serving nonprofit institutions | Investment Manager Inquiry | Use manager inquiry, not the institutional-client RFP |
| Wilshire | Investment consultant with discretionary and private-fund businesses | Compass manager registration | General database access is not verified dedicated private-fund intake |
| Mercer | Investment consultant and OCIO provider | Nasdaq eVestment data-contribution route | Confirm private-fund routing and do not rely on legacy GIMD instructions |
| NEPC | Research-led investment consultant | Manager resources and advertised searches | Each search has its own eligibility and deadline |
| Marquette Associates | Institutional investment consultant | Published manager-search process and contact links | A questionnaire login is not proof of open registration |
| Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk (SKK) | Wealth and asset manager researching external alternatives | General contact form | Relevant research does not establish an open manager-submission program |
| bfinance | Investment consultant with manager-selection and private-markets research | General inquiry | Ask about relevant coverage and do not assume an open fund application |
Where each firm fits
Cambridge Associates: start with the private-manager process
Cambridge Associates explains its screening and submission process and invites private managers to participate in its benchmarks. Participating funds are added to its internal database, which can increase visibility to investment teams, and funds may also appear on its Optica Research platform. Cambridge says it collects data and materials, meets appropriate managers, performs analysis and risk reviews, and only then considers recommendations. Benchmark or database participation is not a fundraising approval.
Meketa: use the explicit private-market submission route
Meketa provides one of the clearest manager consideration forms. It asks for a strategy description, opportunity type, and marketing materials, including a PPM for private-market strategies. Its criteria are assessed against client policies. A complete submission still needs mandate fit, and a particular client search may impose additional exclusions.
Callan: combine maintained data with the relevant research team
Callan's manager page invites participation in CallanDNA and provides meeting-request links for private equity, private credit, and real assets. Start with the applicable team and current instructions. Database inclusion does not endorse a fund. Callan LLC also explicitly distinguishes itself from the unaffiliated Callan Family Office.
Albourne: alternatives research without its own allocation promise
Albourne's manager resources identify MoatSpace as the place to upload and maintain fund documentation, including private-market information. Its manager guidance distinguishes consulting from managing capital. The appropriate objective is accurate research coverage, not asking Albourne to write a fund commitment.
RVK: route alternatives through Investment Manager Research
RVK gives specific manager-contact instructions, including presentation materials and asset-class routing. Alternative managers can request access to its proprietary information-collection tool. Its research coverage includes venture capital, private equity, private debt, and real assets. RVK's OCIO search services should not be confused with a claim that RVK is the discretionary OCIO.
Commonfund OCIO: approach the manager partnership channel
Commonfund's OCIO work includes sourcing managers and implementing portfolios for nonprofit investors. Its Investment Manager Inquiry is the relevant public starting point for managers. Keep that channel separate from prospective clients seeking OCIO services and from affiliated CF Private Equity fund products.
Wilshire: distinguish advisory coverage from fund products
Wilshire's private-markets offering includes advisory services, discretionary portfolios, and funds of funds. Its Compass portal invites manager registration for research visibility. The general registration page does not establish the exact intake process for every private strategy. Clarify which research team or investment vehicle is relevant before treating Wilshire as one unified prospect.
Mercer: separate data visibility from manager selection
Mercer publishes investment-manager research services and private-market and OCIO capabilities. Its data relationship with Nasdaq eVestment provides a current data-contribution route after the transition from legacy GIMD collection. Confirm the applicable private-fund workflow before submitting. eVestment is the data platform, not an additional consultant or LP, and a commercial subscription does not buy a Mercer recommendation.
NEPC: treat advertised searches as specific opportunities
NEPC's manager resources explain how managers can gain consideration and publish advertised searches and status information. The page currently shows no advertised searches, so do not present it as an open private-fund allocation. Subscribe for new searches and use a route only when the actual brief, asset class, and deadline fit your fund.
Marquette Associates: prepare for substantive evaluation
Marquette's manager-search process covers traditional and alternative strategies, document review, firm evaluation, and ongoing diligence. Its published 2025 year-end figures describe a large research database and thousands of annual manager meetings. Use its contact route to establish the appropriate process. The existence of a product-questionnaire portal should not be read as confirmation that a fund is under review.
SKK: qualify the external-manager opportunity first
Boston-based Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk's research team describes alternative-manager diligence and underwriting for institutional clients, private-wealth clients, and internally managed funds. This supports inclusion, but its public contact form is general. Ask whether a relevant external-manager review is appropriate before sending sensitive materials. Do not conflate that review with SKK's direct-investment strategies.
bfinance: understand the investor's manager-selection brief
bfinance publishes current work on manager selection and private markets. That makes it relevant to managers whose strategies match institutional portfolio needs. Its general inquiry route is a starting point for establishing the right research contact, not a verified invitation to send an unsolicited PPM.
Prepare a diligence package, not just a pitch deck
The most useful submission makes it easy to determine whether the strategy fits, what evidence supports it, and what still needs verification.
- Mandate: strategy, geography, fund-size target, portfolio construction, investment period, and relevant exclusions.
- Team: ownership, decision-making responsibilities, succession arrangements, and clearly attributed prior experience.
- Track record: dated gross and net results where applicable, realized and unrealized components, methodology, and supporting records. Do not present another firm's performance as your own.
- Fund documents: current presentation, offering documents, terms, fee information, and an organized diligence questionnaire when requested.
- Operations: service providers, valuation process, compliance procedures, cybersecurity, conflicts, and reporting practices.
- Context: the relevant client mandate or research category, prior interactions, and the specific next step requested.
Do not upload confidential materials merely because a form has an attachment field. Review the recipient's instructions, confidentiality terms, and permitted use, and involve counsel where appropriate.
Track research progress separately from fundraising progress
A database entry, a research meeting, an approved recommendation, and an LP commitment are different events. Record them separately. For example, “manager profile submitted” should not become “LP interested,” and a consultant meeting should not become a forecast commitment without further evidence.
Start with a prioritized LP target list, then add consultants whose asset-class coverage and client mandates match your fund. Keep submission dates, source links, requested materials, relationship context, and next actions together. Follow up when you have the requested information or a meaningful update, not simply because another week has passed.
Explore Finta for emerging fund managers to organize LP and consultant relationships. The LP fundraising follow-up workflow provides a relevant next step for reviewing open conversations and commitments.
How this list was selected
We reviewed official firm pages for manager research, private-market selection, or delegated investment responsibilities, then checked the public approach route. We separated explicit manager intake from databases, advertised searches, and general inquiries. Cambridge Associates appears first because its public private-manager process is especially clear. The rest are grouped by the specificity of the public route, not ranked by returns, capital availability, or likelihood of backing a particular fund.
Public information does not establish a current allocation budget, an open mandate, or an expected response. Recheck the linked instructions before approaching a firm. Where a company operates several businesses, verify the specific entity and team rather than transferring one business's mandate to another.