The search fund model is one of the most direct routes into entrepreneurship through acquisition. A small group of aligned investors backs one or two entrepreneurs, the «searchers,» while they look for a private company to buy, manage and grow, usually for five to ten years.
Since the first search fund appeared in 1984, the model has spread around the world. The first one outside the United States and Canada was raised in the United Kingdom in 1992, and IESE Business School began tracking international funds in 2011. In its 2026 edition, the eighth biennial study, IESE and the Stanford Graduate School of Business identify 492 search funds in 48 countries, with a record 96 launches in 2024 and a record 46 acquisitions in 2025.
Most searchers are in their mid-thirties (median age of 34), and 60% of the latest cohort hold an MBA, although backgrounds are increasingly varied. The entrepreneurial challenge and the independence of the model draw many people to it, as do the returns: as of December 2025, international search funds delivered an aggregate 2.8x return on investment and a 30% IRR, up from 2.0x and 18% two years earlier.
The model is not without risks: 73% of concluded searches ended in an acquisition, which means more than one in four never bought a company, and 21% of the acquisitions produced a loss for investors.
This study offers an overview of who is launching search funds, how they raise capital and search, what they buy and what investors earn, with a closer look at Europe and Latin America. It is based on responses from 94% of all known core search funds outside the United States and Canada.
The document is divided into several parts:
- Introduction to the model and the main results of the study.
- About the study: scope, data collection and status of the 492 funds.
- International search fund activity by year and by country.
- New search funds: principals, fundraising and search strategy.
- Search fund acquisitions: outcomes, acquired businesses and typical deal metrics.
- Financial performance: returns by outcome, partnership type, cohort and status.
- Conclusion and closing remarks, including the emergence of Long Duration Enterprises.
Want the full study? Download the original report, including all exhibits and methodology notes.
The study was written by Ann-Sophie Kowalewski, Juan Naranjo, Peter Kelly and Jan Simon, with the support of the Barrilero Fund for Search Funds and Entrepreneurial Acquisitions. The authors thank the investors and search fund principals who took part in the data collection.
