Stanford GSB’s 2026 study reports on the financial returns and key characteristics of search funds formed in the U.S. and Canada since 1984.
- Conducted by Peter Kelly, Stefanos Zenios and Dom Ng, updating the 2024 study with data through December 31, 2025
- Tracks 862 core search funds launched since 1984, representing 99% of known search funds in the U.S. and Canada
- Aggregate performance: 33.9% IRR and a 4.75× ROI, with IRR down slightly from 35.1% and ROI up from 4.5× in the 2024 study as CEOs held companies longer
- Roughly half of recent searchers acquired a company: 48% of funds launched in 2021–24, versus 58% across all concluded funds
- Introduces for the first time data on 67 long duration enterprises (LDEs), also known as committed capital vehicles or long-term holds
- Serves the search fund community, including current searchers, CEOs, investors, and entrepreneurs evaluating whether to pursue a search fund