Directory · placement agents
Private equity placement agents
A placement agent helps a fund manager raise capital from institutional investors.
This is an unranked directory of independent and bank-affiliated placement agents, each linked to its own website.
Fees are covered in our placement agent fees guide.
- 39 firms listed
- Unranked, alphabetical
- Linked to each firm’s site
- Checked October 2026
How a search runswhat we undertake
- 01BriefThe seat, the fund or company stage, and what the hire must deliverCall
- 02MapThe firms, funds and companies where that experience sitsResearch
- 03ApproachConfidential conversations with people who fit the briefOutreach
- 04ShortlistAssessed candidates, with references we take ourselvesReport
- 05OfferInterviews, offer and the notice period, managed to a start dateClose
First step15 min call
01/ directory
Placement agents, A to Z
Filter by independent or bank-affiliated, or search by name, city or focus.
Showing 39 of 39 · listed alphabetically, not ranked
Listed alphabetically, not ranked.
Each focus line is our summary of the firm’s own website, checked in October 2026, and an equity ticket appears only where the firm’s site states one, linked to that page.
We do not publish assets under management.
Spot an error?
Email hello@fractional.quest.
02/ what they do
What a placement agent does
A fundraise runs in stages, and an agent can work on all of them or only some.
BEFORE LAUNCH
Getting ready to raise
The agent tests the strategy, track record and terms against what investors are looking for, and helps prepare the materials and data room.
INVESTOR MAPPING
Finding the right investors
The agent identifies pension funds, insurers, endowments, family offices and funds of funds that fit the strategy.
MEETINGS
Running the roadshow
The agent arranges meetings, manages follow-up and handles due diligence questions through to commitment.
GP-LED · LP-LED
Secondaries and capital solutions
Many placement agents also advise on secondary transactions, such as continuation funds, and on other capital solutions for managers.
03/ choosing
Independent or bank-affiliated?
The two kinds of agent in this directory, compared on how they are set up.
→ Ask any agent how many funds it is raising at once, and for whom.
04/ due diligence
Questions to ask an agent
A checklist for managers choosing a placement agent.
0 of 9 ready
05/ guide
How placement agents are regulated
United Kingdom
Arranging deals in investments is a regulated activity under article 25 of the Regulated Activities Order, and section 19 of FSMA 2000 prohibits carrying on a regulated activity without authorisation or an exemption.
Many smaller UK boutiques operate as appointed representatives of an authorised firm under section 39 of FSMA; the FCA explains the model on its appointed representatives pages.
United States
The SEC’s pay-to-play rule, Rule 206(4)-5, restricts an adviser from paying a third party to solicit government clients unless that party is a regulated person.
FINRA members that act as placement agents for government business follow FINRA Rule 2030, and FINRA’s capital acquisition broker rules cover firms that act as placement agents for institutional private placements.
How widely they are used
A 2014 working paper by Cain, McKeon and Davidoff Solomon found that “by 2011, about 75% of value-weighted fundraisings rely on placement agents” (source).
06/ questions
Questions, answered
A firm that helps a fund manager raise capital from institutional investors, usually paid a fee linked to the commitments it brings in.
No.
Firms are listed alphabetically with a link to their own site and a short summary of their focus.
We do not rank them or publish amounts raised.
See our placement agent fees guide, which uses only published sources.
Arranging deals in investments is a regulated activity, so a UK placement agent needs FCA authorisation or an exemption, such as being an appointed representative of an authorised firm.
You can check a firm on the FCA register.
Yes.
Many managers hire an in-house investor relations lead as well as, or instead of, using an agent; see private equity recruitment.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to talk through the hire
Tell us the seat, the fund or company, and the timing. We set out how we would run the search.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the search
- 03A written search plan after the call
- 04Permanent, interim and fractional briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
07/ sources
Sources and further reading
Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page.