Key Takeaways
- • Dakota's 2026 guide ranks seven private fund performance databases, with its own Joe platform positioned as the option for named-fund performance plus fundraising and allocator intelligence.
- • Joe, powered by Dakota, tracks Net IRR, TVPI, DPI and RVPI across more than 18,000 private funds, reported at the level of the specific named fund rather than an anonymized cohort.
- • The guide contrasts Joe's pricing with Burgiss and Cambridge Associates, which require institutional relationships, and with Preqin and PitchBook, which run enterprise, quote-only contracts.
- • The guide recommends different platforms by use case: Preqin for comprehensive research, PitchBook for company and deal intelligence, Burgiss for institutional cash flow benchmarking, Cambridge Associates for benchmark indices, Hamilton Lane Cobalt for portfolio construction, and CEPRES for deal-level transparency.
Summary
Dakota has published a 2026 guide comparing private fund performance databases used by institutional investors, family offices, consultants, fund managers, investment banks and placement agents for manager evaluation, benchmarking, due diligence and fundraising. The article is a vendor-authored comparison, and its assessments of Joe reflect Dakota's own positioning.
Joe, powered by Dakota, is presented as the first option. According to the guide, it tracks Net IRR, TVPI, DPI and RVPI on more than 18,000 private funds across buyout, growth equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, secondaries, special situations, hedge funds, and fund-of-funds and evergreen structures. Each fund record is linked to Dakota's GP and sponsor intelligence covering more than 20,000 investment firms. The dataset is said to update daily and to be queryable through Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot connectors, as well as API and MCP access. The guide states the platform is priced below enterprise offerings, though the published price is not included in the text.
The other platforms are described in general terms. Preqin covers private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and hedge funds, with a large institutional investor database and fundraising intelligence. PitchBook combines private company data, transactions, venture financing, M&A and fund performance. Burgiss, which derives much of its data from limited partner cash flow reporting, is widely used by pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds. Cambridge Associates is known for widely referenced benchmark indices. Hamilton Lane Cobalt focuses on pacing, commitment planning and cash flow forecasting. CEPRES emphasizes deal-level and portfolio company analytics.
The guide concludes that Preqin and PitchBook are broad market intelligence platforms, Burgiss and Cambridge Associates are embedded with institutional investors, Hamilton Lane Cobalt is oriented to portfolio management, and CEPRES focuses on deal-level analytics. A related Dakota article notes that Preqin Alternatives is covered in a parallel guide.
Joe, powered by Dakota, is presented as the first option. According to the guide, it tracks Net IRR, TVPI, DPI and RVPI on more than 18,000 private funds across buyout, growth equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, secondaries, special situations, hedge funds, and fund-of-funds and evergreen structures. Each fund record is linked to Dakota's GP and sponsor intelligence covering more than 20,000 investment firms. The dataset is said to update daily and to be queryable through Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot connectors, as well as API and MCP access. The guide states the platform is priced below enterprise offerings, though the published price is not included in the text.
The other platforms are described in general terms. Preqin covers private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and hedge funds, with a large institutional investor database and fundraising intelligence. PitchBook combines private company data, transactions, venture financing, M&A and fund performance. Burgiss, which derives much of its data from limited partner cash flow reporting, is widely used by pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds. Cambridge Associates is known for widely referenced benchmark indices. Hamilton Lane Cobalt focuses on pacing, commitment planning and cash flow forecasting. CEPRES emphasizes deal-level and portfolio company analytics.
The guide concludes that Preqin and PitchBook are broad market intelligence platforms, Burgiss and Cambridge Associates are embedded with institutional investors, Hamilton Lane Cobalt is oriented to portfolio management, and CEPRES focuses on deal-level analytics. A related Dakota article notes that Preqin Alternatives is covered in a parallel guide.
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