Key Takeaways
- • S&P Global is partnering with Cambridge Associates and Mercer to build a private markets performance analytics platform aimed at enabling direct comparison of manager fund performance.
- • The platform is set to soft launch in 2026 and will be built on S&P Global's iLEVEL portfolio monitoring software, offering aggregated, anonymized insights, global fund performance monitoring, fundraising tracking, and deal analytics.
- • The collaboration introduces a more granular classification system for private markets funds, assets, and deals, with S&P citing airline leasing as an example of how its taxonomy goes deeper than standard datasets.
- • Chris Sparenberg, head of private markets strategy at S&P Global Market Intelligence, argues that improved GP-LP transparency has not been matched by deeper taxonomy and analytics.
Summary
S&P Global is partnering with investment consulting firms Cambridge Associates and Mercer to address persistent data fragmentation and inconsistent reporting standards in private markets, according to Institutional Investor. Although managers now provide more frequent and detailed reporting, investors still struggle to compare fund performance directly. The initiative aims to provide comprehensive private markets performance analytics that allow such comparisons.
The platform is set to soft launch this year and will draw on S&P Global's iLEVEL portfolio monitoring software. Its stated capabilities include aggregated, anonymized insights, global fund performance monitoring, fundraising tracking, and deal analytics. The platform is designed to cover performance across asset classes, reduce reporting complexity for managers, and introduce an enhanced classification system.
Speaking to Institutional Investor the day before the announcement, Chris Sparenberg, head of private markets strategy at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the partnership was driven by a desire to provide "deeper views into nuanced asset classes." He said that while private markets have seen better GP-LP transparency, "there hasn't been a corresponding movement to creating a deeper taxonomy and analytics." He also noted that the average institutional allocation to private markets has continued to grow year on year, while high-quality datasets have lagged, even as the market expands with more funds, opportunities, capital and reporting.
The new classification system breaks funds, assets and deals into more detailed categories to make similar investments easier to compare and performance trends easier to analyze. Sparenberg gave an example: airline leasing typically sits in the opportunistic credit bucket in most datasets, whereas S&P tags it down to the leasing level so it also connects to special opportunities. He argued that as private credit draws more scrutiny, common guidelines are essential so that comparisons are made "apples to apples," rather than relying on "soundbites and anecdotes."
The platform is set to soft launch this year and will draw on S&P Global's iLEVEL portfolio monitoring software. Its stated capabilities include aggregated, anonymized insights, global fund performance monitoring, fundraising tracking, and deal analytics. The platform is designed to cover performance across asset classes, reduce reporting complexity for managers, and introduce an enhanced classification system.
Speaking to Institutional Investor the day before the announcement, Chris Sparenberg, head of private markets strategy at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the partnership was driven by a desire to provide "deeper views into nuanced asset classes." He said that while private markets have seen better GP-LP transparency, "there hasn't been a corresponding movement to creating a deeper taxonomy and analytics." He also noted that the average institutional allocation to private markets has continued to grow year on year, while high-quality datasets have lagged, even as the market expands with more funds, opportunities, capital and reporting.
The new classification system breaks funds, assets and deals into more detailed categories to make similar investments easier to compare and performance trends easier to analyze. Sparenberg gave an example: airline leasing typically sits in the opportunistic credit bucket in most datasets, whereas S&P tags it down to the leasing level so it also connects to special opportunities. He argued that as private credit draws more scrutiny, common guidelines are essential so that comparisons are made "apples to apples," rather than relying on "soundbites and anecdotes."
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.