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Selecting Evergreen Funds: Comparing Multi-Manager and Single-Manager Approaches

  • Strategy insight

November 24, 2025 | 6 min read

Craig MacDonald

Managing Director

Caroline Hooft Graafland

Vice President

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There has been a sharp increase in the number of evergreen funds over the past few years, increasing the evergreen fund choices for investors. One key consideration when trying to decide between evergreen fund options is whether they invest using a multi-manager or a single-manager approach.

Exhibit I: Defining the two approaches

Multi-manager funds

  • The fund manager sources investments from multiple underlying managers (General Partners or GPs).
  • The fund manager selects deals and oversees the portfolio allocations by investment type, strategy,1 sector, and geography.
  • The fund manager invests alongside operating GPs in the underlying portfolio companies.

Single-manager funds

  • The GP selects deals and makes fund investments itself.
  • The GP operates the portfolio companies within the fund.
  • The GP will often focus on a specific investment style (e.g., buyout, growth equity, etc.), sector, or geography.

When choosing between multi-manager and single-manager evergreen fund options, given a particular investor’s goals and objectives, it is important to consider their distinct characteristics and approaches to private markets investing, which we outline below.

There are several advantages of a multi-manager approach in an evergreen fund format, as it relates to access to deal flow, diversification, and portfolio construction. We believe these advantages make a multi-manager evergreen fund an ideal core allocation when investing in private markets. A single-manager evergreen fund, on the other hand, has characteristics that make it more appropriate to serve as a targeted, satellite allocation.

Paired together, we believe that multi-manager and single-manager evergreen offerings can provide complementary exposures and the “best of both worlds” within an investor’s portfolio.

Exhibit II: Exploring the key differences

Access to deal flow

Sourcing model is based on broad, consistent access to opportunities from a large number of GPs, as well as a range of other sources, such as relationships with intermediaries and with institutional LPs for secondary transactions.

Deep relationships with top-tier GPs are key to ensure high-quality sourcing and a large volume of deal flow.

Sourcing model may be more concentrated, as deal flow is constrained by what one manager or firm can source.

Certain single-managers can have deep expertise in a specific investment style, sector, or geography, providing access to a more focused set of investments.

Potentially lower investment pace, particularly for small and middle market single-managers, which may not have the scale of deal flow necessary for evergreen funds. A lack of consistent deal flow may limit the ability to achieve diversification, particularly from a vintage perspective.

The advantages of a multi-manager approach

The power of sourcing a high velocity of investment opportunities allows for capital to be deployed without sacrificing quality, minimizing cash drag and optimizing the evergreen fund’s risk / return profile.

Increased investment supply is also important for an evergreen fund’s scalability over time.

Diversification

The broad sourcing model provides manager diversification (across top-tier and specialist private markets GPs that are otherwise difficult to access).

This GP variety drives diverse deal flow, allowing multi-manager funds to source a wide range of opportunities across multiple strategies (e.g., venture, growth, buyout), sectors (e.g., healthcare, IT, consumer discretionary, etc.), geographies, and value creation strategies.2

As risk is spread across multiple GPs, this reduces concentration risk and the impact of any one manager underperforming; and mitigates key person risk, due to the depth of investment teams at the firm level and underlying manager level.

The sourcing model is likely to be more concentrated and may focus on a specific investment style, sector, or geography. This may limit total diversification (particularly for specialized single GPs).

By virtue of there being one manager, risk is concentrated with a single GP. This increases susceptibility to market conditions within their specialist area, and performance is highly dependent on the single GP’s expertise. There exists increased key person risk, with enhanced reliance on a key person(s) and investment team(s).

The advantages of a multi-manager approach

Diversification across multiple managers enables an evergreen fund to invest consistently through various market environments, enabling the deployment of capital into the most attractive investment opportunities and optimizing the evergreen fund’s risk/return profile.

Portfolio construction

Once the fund manager has started to build its portfolio and the firm retains access to a broad and diversified level of deal flow, multi-managers are able to dynamically tilt allocations based on market conditions by pivoting future investments towards or away from specific strategies, themes, sectors, or geographies.

For example, a multi-manager could look to gain exposure to companies and GPs that are well positioned to take advantage of AI.

The GP may have deep expertise often through a specialization in a specific investment style or market segment (such as enterprise software).

This dynamic may limit a single-manager’s ability to dynamically tilt allocations toward or away from a specific theme, sector, or geography based on market conditions due to their more specialized focus.

The advantages of a multi-manager approach

Access to a broad, diversified level of deal flow provides the flexibility to invest across the entire deal continuum, providing more degrees of freedom on where the evergreen fund manager over- or under-allocates at any point in the cycle.

For example, a multi-manager is not tied to investing only in growth equity when a recession is in full swing. 

Exhibit III: The spectrum of evergreen private markets funds

As illustrated below, the evergreen fund landscape provides a number of portfolio construction options for an investor, depending on their goals and objectives.

A multi-manager evergreen fund, diversified by strategy (secondaries and direct co-investments) and typically mid-market focused, can serve as a core, diversified building block within an investor’s portfolio. This can be complemented by the addition of multi-manager evergreen funds that focus on a specific strategy (broad secondary and/or direct).

Single-manager evergreen funds can further complement these exposures, by serving as more targeted building blocks (satellites) within an investor’s portfolio. Larger, ‘platform’ single-manager funds provide exposure to large-cap investments, while smaller ‘focused’ single-manager funds, often with one specialization, can provide exposure to small-cap companies or to a certain industry or geography.

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Conclusion

Multi-manager and single-manager evergreen funds are not mutually exclusive fund types for an investor and can play different roles in a portfolio. Depending on an investor’s particular goals and objectives, the evolving evergreen fund landscape offers a number of core multi-manager and satellite single-manager building block options, each with its own distinct, yet complementary, characteristics.

Footnotes
  1. Can be in the form of direct co-investments, secondary investments (both LP-led and GP-led transactions), or primary commitments to third-party closed-end funds
  2. Examples of the value creation methods managers may specialise in include: operational improvements; acquisitions to scale or enter adjacencies; organic growth; upgrading management; revenue growth; or technology enablement.
Disclosure

This material is solely for informational purposes and should not be viewed as a current or past recommendation or an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy securities or adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed herein represent the current, good faith views of the author(s) at the time of publication, are not definitive investment advice, and should not be relied upon as such. This material has been developed internally and/or obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, HarbourVest does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such information. There is no assurance that any events or projections will occur, and outcomes may be significantly different than the opinions shown here. This information, including any projections concerning financial market performance, is based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons.

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Professional Investor Definition

“Professional Investor” under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (the “SFO”) and its subsidiary legislation) means:

(a) any recognised exchange company, recognised clearing house, recognised exchange controller or recognised investor compensation company, or any person authorised to provide automated trading services under section 95(2) of the SFO;

(b) any intermediary, or any other person carrying on the business of the provision of investment services and regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong;

(c) any authorized financial institution, or any bank which is not an authorised financial institution but is regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong;

(d) any insurer authorized under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or any other person carrying on insurance business and regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong;

(e) any scheme which-

(i) is a collective investment scheme authorised under section 104 of the SFO; or

(ii) is similarly constituted under the law of any place outside Hong Kong and, if it is regulated under the law of such place, is permitted to be operated under the law of such place,

or any person by whom any such scheme is operated;

(f) any registered scheme as defined in section 2(1) of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485 of the Laws of Hong Kong), or its constituent fund as defined in section 2 of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) Regulation (Cap. 485A of the Laws of Hong Kong), or any person who, in relation to any such registered scheme, is an approved trustee or service provider as defined in section 2(1) of that Ordinance or who is an investment manager of any such registered scheme or constituent fund;

(g) any scheme which-

(i) is a registered scheme as defined in section 2(1) of the Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 426 of the Laws of Hong Kong); or

(ii) is an offshore scheme as defined in section 2(1) of that Ordinance and, if it is regulated under the law of the place in which it is domiciled, is permitted to be operated under the law of such place,

or any person who, in relation to any such scheme, is an administrator as defined in section 2(1) of that Ordinance;

(h) any government (other than a municipal government authority), any institution which performs the functions of a central bank, or any multilateral agency;

(i) except for the purposes of Schedule 5 to the SFO, any corporation which is-

(i) a wholly owned subsidiary of-

(A) an intermediary, or any other person carrying on the business of the provision of investment services and regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong; or

(B) an authorized financial institution, or any bank which is not an authorised financial institution but is regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong;

(ii) a holding company which holds all the issued share capital of-

(A) an intermediary, or any other person carrying on the business of the provision of investment services and regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong; or

(B) an authorized financial institution, or any bank which is not an authorised financial institution but is regulated under the law of any place outside Hong Kong; or

(iii) any other wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company referred to in subparagraph (ii); or

(j) any person of a class which is prescribed by rules made under section 397 of the SFO for the purposes of this paragraph as within the meaning of this definition for the purposes of the provisions of the SFO, or to the extent that it is prescribed by rules so made as within the meaning of this definition for the purposes of any provision of the SFO.

The first of such classes of additional “professional investor”, under the Securities and Futures (Professional Investor) Rules (Cap. 571D of the Laws of Hong Kong), are:

(k) any trust corporation (registered under Part VIII of the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29 of the Laws of Hong Kong) or the equivalent overseas) having been entrusted under the trust or trusts of which it acts as a trustee with total assets of not less than HK$40 million or its equivalent in any foreign currency at the relevant date (see below) or-

(i) as stated in the most recent audited financial statement prepared-

(A) in respect of the trust corporation; and

(B) within 16 months before the relevant date;

(ii) as ascertained by referring to one or more audited financial statements, each being the most recent audited financial statement, prepared-

(A) in respect of the trust or any of the trust; and

(B) within 16 months before the relevant date; or

(iii) as ascertained by referring to one or more custodian (see below) statements issued to the trust corporation-

(A) in respect of the trust or any of the trusts; and

(B) within 12 months before the relevant date;

(l) any individual, either alone or with any of his associates (the spouse or any child) on a joint account, having a portfolio (see below) of not less than HK$8 million or its equivalent in any foreign currency at the relevant date or-

(i) as stated in a certificate issued by an auditor or a certified public accountant of the individual within 12 months before the relevant date; or

(ii)  as ascertained by referring to one or more custodian statements issued to the individual (either alone or with the associate) within 12 months before the relevant date;

(m) any corporation or partnership having-

(i) a portfolio of not less than HK$8 million or its equivalent in any foreign currency; or

(ii) total assets of not less than HK$40 million or its equivalent in any foreign currency, at the relevant date, or as ascertained by referring to-

(iii) the most recent audited financial statement prepared-

(A) in respect of the corporation or partnership (as the case may be); and

(B) within 16 months before the relevant date; or

(iv) one or more custodian statements issued to the corporation or partnership (as the case may be) within 12 months before the relevant date; and

(n) any corporation the sole business of which is to hold investments and which at the relevant date is wholly owned by any one or more of the following persons-

(i) a trust corporation that falls within the description in paragraph (k);

(ii) an individual who, either alone or with any of his or her associates on a joint account, falls within the description in paragraph (k);

(iii) a corporation that falls within the description in paragraph (m);

(iv) a partnership that falls within the description in paragraph (m).

For the purposes of paragraphs (k) to (n) above:

  • “relevant date” means the date on which the advertisement, invitation or document (made in respect of securities or structured products or interests in any collective investment scheme, which is intended to be disposed of only to professional investors), is issued, or possessed for the purposes of issue;
  • “custodian” means (i) a corporation whose principal business is to act as a securities custodian, or (ii) an authorised financial institution under the Banking Ordinance (Cap. 155 of the Laws of Hong Kong); an overseas bank; a corporation licensed under the SFO; or an overseas financial intermediary, whose business includes acting as a custodian; and
  • “portfolio” means a portfolio comprising any of the following (i) securities; (ii) certificates of deposit issued by an authorised financial institution under the Banking Ordinance (Cap, 155 of the Laws of Hong Kong) or an overseas bank; and (iii) except for trust corporations, cash held by a custodian.

Institutional Investor / Accredited Investor Definition

An institutional investor as defined in Section 4A of the SFA and Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018 is:

(a) the Singapore Government;

(b) a statutory board as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 341 of the SFA, as prescribed in the Second Schedule of the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018;

(c) an entity that is wholly and beneficially owned, whether directly or indirectly, by a central government of a country and whose principal activity is —

(i) to manage its own funds;

(ii) to manage the funds of the central government of that country (which may include the reserves of that central government and any pension or provident fund of that country); or

(iii) to manage the funds (which may include the reserves of that central government and any pension or provident fund of that country) of another entity that is wholly and beneficially owned, whether directly or indirectly, by the central government of that country;

(d) any entity —

(i) that is wholly and beneficially owned, whether directly or indirectly, by the central government of a country; and

(ii) whose funds are managed by an entity mentioned in sub‑paragraph (c);

(e) a bank that is licensed under the Banking Act 1970;

(f) a merchant bank that is licensed under the Banking Act 1970;

(g) a finance company that is licensed under the Finance Companies Act 1967;

(h) a company or co‑operative society that is licensed under the Insurance Act 1966 to carry on insurance business in Singapore;

(i) a company licensed under the Trust Companies Act 2005;

(j) a holder of a capital markets services licence;

(k) an approved exchange;

(l) a recognised market operator;

(m) an approved clearing house;

(n) a recognised clearing house;

(o) a licensed trade repository;

(p) a licensed foreign trade repository;

(q) an approved holding company;

(r) a Depository as defined in section 81SF of the SFA;

(s) a pension fund, or collective investment scheme, whether constituted in Singapore or elsewhere;

(t) a person (other than an individual) who carries on the business of dealing in bonds with accredited investors or expert investors;

(u) a designated market‑maker as defined in paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations;

(v) a headquarters company or Finance and Treasury Centre which carries on a class of business involving fund management, where such business has been approved as a qualifying service in relation to that headquarters company or Finance and Treasury Centre under section 43D(2)(a) or 43E(2)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1947;

(w) a person who undertakes fund management activity (whether in Singapore or elsewhere) on behalf of not more than 30 qualified investors;

(x) a Service Company (as defined in regulation 2 of the Insurance (Lloyd’s Asia Scheme) Regulations) which carries on business as an agent of a member of Lloyd’s;

(y) a corporation the entire share capital of which is owned by an institutional investor or by persons all of whom are institutional investors;

(z) a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership within the meaning of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005) in which each partner is an institutional investor.

An accredited investor as defined in Section 4A of the SFA and Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018 is:

(i)  an individual —

(A) whose net personal assets exceed in value $2 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) or such other amount as the Authority may prescribe in place of the first amount;

(B) whose financial assets (net of any related liabilities) exceed in value $1 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) or such other amount as the Authority may prescribe in place of the first amount, where “financial asset” means —

(BA) a deposit as defined in section 4B of the Banking Act 1970;

(BB) an investment product as defined in section 2(1) of the Financial Advisers Act 2001; or

(BC) any other asset as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 341; or

(C) whose income in the preceding 12 months is not less than $300,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) or such other amount as the Authority may prescribe in place of the first amount;

(ii)  a corporation with net assets exceeding $10 million in value (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) or such other amount as the Authority may prescribe, in place of the first amount, as determined by —

(A) the most recent audited balance sheet of the corporation; or

(B) where the corporation is not required to prepare audited accounts regularly, a balance sheet of the corporation certified by the corporation as giving a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the corporation as of the date of the balance sheet, which date must be within the preceding 12 months;

(iii) A trustee of a trust which all the beneficiaries are accredited investors; or

(iv) A trustee of a trust which the subject matter exceeds S$10 million; or

(v) An entity (other than a corporation) with net assets exceeding S$10 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) in value. “Entity” includes an unincorporated association, a partnership and the government of any state, but does not include a trust; or

(vi) A partnership (other than a limited liability partnership) in which every partner is an accredited investor; or

(vii) A corporation which the entire share capital is owned by one or more persons, all of whom are accredited investors.

Continuation solutions encompass a host of transaction types in which a GP secures interim liquidity and/or additional primary capital for their LPs in a strongly performing asset, or set of assets, that the GP will continue to own and control. Specifically, they include continuation funds, new funds created by GPs for the purpose of acquiring the asset(s) that continue to be managed by the same GP and capitalized by one or several secondary buyers, or equity recapitalizations involving a direct equity or structured equity investment into a portfolio company. These transactions can also include a parallel investment from the GP’s latest fund into that same pool of assets (a “cross-fund trade”).