Emerging Manager Ecosystem Assessment

Background & Methodology

In spring and summer 2026, the Blue Hour Collective (BHC) conducted a listening tour and hosted design sessions reaching 120+ people across the investment ecosystem, ranging across geographies, capital types, and ecosystem roles — including fund managers, LPs, philanthropists, family offices, corporations, and foundations.

Our reach was deliberately broad, designed to surface as many perspectives as possible and engage people at all stages of fund development and investment.

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Research Participants

Map of the United States with four location markers.
Map of the United States with four location markers.

BHC hosted workshops across the country using design-thinking methodology:

  • Austin, TX during the SXSW Festival, in partnership with the Stanford d.School

  • New York, NY with the NYC Economic Development Corporation's Venture Access Alliance

  • Palo Alto, CA at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in partnership with the Stanford d.school

  • Minneapolis, MN at The Coven, in partnership with the McKnight Foundation.

120+

An extensive listening tour included more than 120 one-on-one conversations:

  • LPs including family offices, institutions, foundations, banks, wealth advisors, and DAFs

  • Emerging Managers raising and deploying Funds I-III

  • Ecosystem support organizations, civic organizations, universities, venture-backed startups, and philanthropists

THE FINDINGS

  • Orange circle with a white number one in the center.

    Emerging Managers are "Over-Mentored and Under-Capitalized"

  • Orange circle with the white number 2 in the center.

    The economics of firm-building remain structurally fragile

  • An orange circle with a white number three in the center.

    LP behavior and market opacity are part of the infrastructure gap

  • Orange circle with the number 4 in white.

    We need a broader set of capital structures and catalytic tools

  • Orange circle with the number 5 in white center

    AI is emerging as both an opportunity and a concentration risk

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Thank you to the 78 workshop attendees and 120+ individuals who participated in our research. We are grateful to the The Coven, McKnight Foundation, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, NYCEDC, Retro-Futurism Consulting, and the Stanford d.School for their leadership and support in making this research possible.

An emerging fund manager participates in a design-thinking workshop in Austin, TX.
Glass door with colorful sticky notes attached that have handwritten notes about fundraising, program diversity, and investor topics, with a large sign labeled 'FUNDRAISING' at the center.
People gathered around a wall with colorful sticky notes and papers attached to it, participating in a collaborative activity or workshop.
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