Modernisation of carry allocation is accelerating across private equity

Modernisation of carry allocations is set to accelerate over the next three years as private equity fund managers move to more flexible and inclusive models, new research* from Ocorian, a leading U.S. and global asset services provider, shows. 

The study, which surveyed private equity managers across the U.S. and Europe collectively managing $3.511 trillion, found that 84% expect the pace of modernisation to increase, with fund structure complexity, regulation and tax issues being the key drivers of change. 

Research across key U.S. markets, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Bulgaria found alternative phantom equity pools are currently the most widely used innovations, while points systems for legacy deal inclusion will see the most growth over the next three years. 

More than half (54%) questioned currently use alternative phantom equity pools, while 53% use shorter vesting and retention hooks and 50% use points systems for legacy deal inclusion. Around two out of five (37%) focus on broader participation as an innovation to carry allocation. 

Looking ahead, 60% expect a dramatic increase in the use of points systems for legacy deal inclusion over the next three years, while 56% expect the same for the use of alternative phantom equity pools  

Fund complexity, regulation and talent are driving change 

The study identified fund structure complexity, regulatory change and tax developments as the primary drivers of changes to carry allocation. More than a third (37%) say complexity of fund structures, including continuation vehicles and longer fund lives, is creating a need for more flexibility while 33% say regulatory and tax changes, including UK reforms, are making changes necessary. 

Around 10% of firms are already using tiered performance-based carry, where carry rates can rise above 20% when higher return thresholds are achieved. depending on higher return multiples, while 90% are considering it.  

Balancing broader participation with LP protection 

The survey also found carried interest or other equity-linked compensation is increasingly being shared with non-principals, with 82% reporting a slight increase over the past three years and 11% reporting a significant increase.  

However, there is also more demand from LPs for stronger protection against over-distribution with 92% reporting an increase. 

Brendan Dowling, Head of Employee Incentive Services at Ocorian, said: “Carry allocation practices are continuing to evolve, and our research suggests this evolution is likely to accelerate over the next three years. 

A range of factors are driving this shift. Chief among them are increasing regulatory and tax scrutiny, alongside the growing complexity of fund structures and incentive arrangements, all of which are creating a greater need for flexibility. 

Competition for talent is also influencing how firms structure carry. There is an increasing focus on creating reward mechanisms that are more transparent and better understood by participants, contributing to a broader trend towards wider participation in carry programmes.” 

The table below shows which innovations to carry allocations private equity fund managers expect the use of to increase the most over the next three years. 

Senior Industry Leaders Set to Join Inaugural ALUMINIUM Arabia 2026

 

“ALUMINIUM Arabia is bringing together key stakeholders from across the aluminium value chain at an important time for the industry in Saudi Arabia,” said Amira El Daly, Event Director, ALUMINIUM Arabia. “With more than 120 exhibitors and over 30 speakers expected to participate, the event will provide a platform for industry leaders to exchange knowledge, explore new technologies and strengthen collaboration around the opportunities shaping the future of aluminium, from advanced manufacturing and downstream development to sustainability and recycling.”

RAKEZ workshop helps entrepreneurs make smarter digital advertising decisions

Ras Al Khaimah, Oct 13: Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) recently organised a workshop at Compass Coworking Centre to help entrepreneurs and small business owners plan more focused digital advertising campaigns, manage their marketing budgets and evaluate the results.

Titled ‘Digital Advertising for Solo Business Owners: Running Meta Ads with Purpose’, the session addressed a common challenge for smaller enterprises: turning advertising expenditure into meaningful business results while working with limited resources. It explored how business owners can move beyond simply boosting social media posts and take a more structured approach to reaching potential customers.

The workshop was led by Abhishek Aditya Sharma, Founder and CEO of SocialCTR Solutions, who shared insights drawn from more than 18 years of experience in digital marketing, branding and performance advertising. He guided attendees through the key elements of Meta advertising, including campaign structure, audience targeting and budget allocation, explaining how these decisions should connect to a company’s business objectives.

Participants also explored how to use performance metrics to assess whether campaigns are delivering value and identify where adjustments are needed. Through practical examples and interactive discussions, the session encouraged business owners to make decisions based on campaign results, helping them direct their budgets more effectively and refine their advertising approach over time.

Building on these fundamentals, the workshop examined the growing role of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. Attendees saw how AI-powered tools can support the development of advertising content and streamline campaign preparation, offering practical ways to manage the time and effort involved in running campaigns alongside their day-to-day business responsibilities.

RAKEZ Group CEO Ramy Jallad said: “For many small businesses, reaching the right customers while managing costs is a constant challenge. Digital advertising offers opportunities to reach new audiences, but business owners need to understand how to plan campaigns and assess their results. By connecting entrepreneurs with relevant expertise, we aim to help them make better-informed marketing investments and develop the skills they need to support their growth.”

Alongside the learning sessions, participants had opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, exchange experiences and discuss the challenges of promoting their businesses. The workshop combined access to specialist expertise with peer interaction, helping business owners consider how to apply the learning to their own marketing priorities.

Doomspeak Vs. Realty – Developers Not Stressed About Festive Season 2026

by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces

The news is suddenly filled with ‘worry’ pieces – the RBI has raised rates, the West Asia conflict continues to unsettle the economy, and one firm says that housing sales reduced. As developers, we read all of such news – but rest assured, we are still planning for a busy festive season. Why? Because our experience and also the evidence all tell us that such headlines do not sign cheques.

Why the Doomspeak?

It’s obvious why ‘doom and gloom’ stories about the residential property market get so much press. After all, housing touches close to every Indian household, so a story that implies scarcity of any kind – be it on the supply side, the demand side, or both, always have a  ready audience. It literally tugs at the Indian heartstrings.

The fact is in real estate, fear-based articles work directly on basic human psychology. A ‘real estate downturn’ angle will always find readers regardless of whether the evidence supports it or not.

The recent rate hike also makes for a tight narrative with a date, a number, a ‘perpetrator’ and a ‘victim’. Nobody ever writes about a quiet strength or recovery in buyer intent, because it lacks sensationalism. You will never find ‘gradual recovery’ in any real estate-related headline.

That’s all fine – reporters have to write such articles to sell papers. The RBI decision does have implications. But when we make an immediate mental leap from rising costs to dwindling demand, developers tend to tune out not because they don’t like the evidence, but because there is no such evidence.

What the Numbers Say

Industry data for July–September 2026 puts housing sales across India’s major cities at roughly 1.02 lakh units. Depending on the tracker and the cities covered, that is anywhere from a 6% fall to a 3% rise over this period in 2025. It broadly averages out at about 1.5% lower. After a year of falling sales, a flat market is not falling but stabilising and as one firm correctly points out, the earlier moderation is cyclical, not structural.

Consider this – according to the data, new launches rose 18% in Q3 2026 and ask yourself – would builders add so much inventory if they expect the market to be declining? A recent survey found that 50% of prospective buyers plan to purchase homes within the next two years. Another 54% believe that macro-economic volatility will at best have a low impact on the Indian housing sector.

Last Year’s Evidence

The best test of the ‘doom’ theory is as recent as last year. Reports said that housing sales in the top cities fell by around 14% in 2025 and attributed it to ‘high prices, IT layoffs and geopolitical tension’. In other words, if there ever was a ‘doom’ year, it would have to be 2025.

However, during the Dussehra–Diwali festive season, most developers saw year-on-year sales shoot up by anywhere between 10–25% in the larger metros – after a sales drop of about 20% across the first nine months of 2025.

Consultancy reports disagreed widely when it came to the last quarter of 2025 – one found sales rising, and another showed a year-on-year drop of 15%. As developers, we do read the news and follow the data, but we also know that such figures are not necessarily the equivalent of the chemistry periodic table. We also follow our instincts, our own sales graphs, and what we know about our customers.

Years When Festivals Did Not Lift Sales

There are notable exceptions, of course. In  2016, demonetisation was announced on 8 November – bang in the middle of the festive quarter – and the market did grind to  a halt. In fact, the major cities saw sales drop by anywhere between 35-45% in the October–December quarter (again, the data swings wildly depending on its source). It’s fair to say that housing sales fell by at least 42%, reaching their lowest level since 2010.

Another muted year was 2018., when the October–December quarter saw sales rise by a paltry  4% over the previous quarter thanks to the NBFC crisis. Media stories wrote about a ‘failed festive season’, even though sales still increased – albeit far below the usual festive boost..

In both instances, the market shocks were to money and credit – in 2016, a sudden cash withdrawal and in 2018, a lending squeeze on non-banking financial companies. Buyers found it difficult to pay, and lenders found it harder to lend.

These were not the only standout years for market slowdown, and there are no credible festive-by-festive records related to housing sales. However, even in the pandemic year of 2020, sales rose by well above 70% in the October–December quarter over the previous quarter, from a rather low base.

The point is that such reports completely discount or ignore the human factor, especially the hard-wired Indian drive to homeownership and the festive season spirit that drives housing sales in India. In the above instances, sales fell when homebuyers did not have access to cash or credit. We know that political instability or uncertainty can have a similar effect, though it tends to be more localised rather than nationwide.

Indian homebuyers do not cancel their purchase plans because they read doom-and-gloom reports in the papers.

Real Headwinds

Yes, we are dealing with actual, undeniable headwinds right now. With the RBI increasing the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50% on 7 October – the first hike since February 2023 – many banks are already lifting their lending rates. On a Rs. 50 lakh loan over a 10-year tenure, this adds about Rs. 66 a month to the EMI, and this can have a real impact on household budgets among budget housing buyers.

The rate hike will cause some stress among affordable and mid-segment buyers, but not on those who are scouting the premium and luxury markets. The RBI’s move is a measured step, but it is not a credit squeeze – lenders continue to lend, banks are open for business, and there is no cash freeze. Most housing loans tend to have tenures of 15-20 years, and rates are bound to fluctuate over such a period. Few buyers set lending rates as perennial red flags. The current headwinds also eventually blow off.

Why Developers Are Calm

Winds, including headwinds, change – but India’s tradition-driven sentiment is not an unpredictable gust of hot or cold air. It is very real. Last year, we saw a ‘gloomy’ 2025 yield a healthy festive uplift. We don’t necessarily expect a bumper Diwali. Homebuyers make purchase decisions based on their current and anticipated employment status, property prices and location, on whether a project incites the necessary spark of decisiveness, and on whether the time is right for the family to take the plunge.

The Indian festive period continues to have a massive cultural relevance and we, as developers, are all geared up to welcome our customers at our sites and confirm bookings during this auspicious period.

About the Author:

Akash Pharande is Managing Director – Pharande Spaces, a leading real estate construction and development firm famous for its township projects in Greater Pune and beyond. Pharande Promoters & Builders, the flagship company of Pharande Spaces and an ISO 9001-2000 certified company, is a pioneer of townships in the region. With the recent inclusion of Puneville Commercial into one of its most iconic townships, Pharande Spaces taken a major step towards addressing Pune’s current and future requirements for fully integrated residential-commercial convenience

Government Targets Training of 6.35 Lakh Rural Youth Through RSETIs in 2026–27

New Delhi, October 13, 2026: The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has partnered with the National Academy of RUDSETI (NAR) to strengthen rural skill development, promote entrepreneurship and improve livelihood opportunities, setting a training target of 6.35 lakh rural youth for the current year through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs).

The Ministry exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NAR on October 12, 2026, to establish uniform training standards, improve administrative practices and facilitate systematic capacity building across RSETIs nationwide.

The MoU exchange took place in the presence of Rohit Kansal, Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development. S. Sasikumar, Joint Secretary (Rural Skills), exchanged the agreement on behalf of the Department of Rural Development, while Raju N. Kori, Director General of NAR, represented the academy.

A key objective of the partnership is to enhance the quality, relevance and delivery of training programmes offered through the RSETI network. The initiative will focus on improving candidate registration through Kaushal Panjee and strengthening attendance monitoring through Aadhaar-based face authentication under the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS).

The collaboration will also promote the introduction of new-age courses aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), alongside the adoption of industry-benchmarked training equipment and learning materials. RSETIs will implement core Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) courses as notified by the Ministry to equip trainees with the skills needed to establish and manage their own enterprises.

The agreement further provides for strengthening the Training of Trainers (ToT) framework, improving the assessment and certification of trainers and candidates through the Unified Portal at kaushal.rural.gov.in, and ensuring compliance with the Common Norms prescribed by the Ministry.

For the current year, RSETIs have been assigned a target of training 6.35 lakh rural youth, exceeding the target set for the previous financial year, 2025–26. The programme will cover women, members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable sections of rural society.

The partnership is expected to improve institutional capacity, strengthen digital governance and establish more effective monitoring mechanisms across the RSETI ecosystem. By standardising training practices and aligning skill development with market and industry requirements, the initiative aims to help rural youth acquire practical skills and build sustainable self-employment opportunities.

The agreement reinforces the Ministry of Rural Development’s focus on connecting skill development with entrepreneurship and livelihood generation. It also supports the broader vision of Viksit Bharat by encouraging rural enterprise creation, expanding economic opportunities and promoting inclusive growth across rural India.