Deloitte’s latest fair valuation survey finds AI adoption surging among fund groups, even as governance frameworks and SEC exams intensify pressure
Private-market investing is reshaping how fund groups manage valuation and the strain is showing. A new survey finds that AI adoption, daily pricing demands, and mounting Securities and Exchange Commission scrutiny are pushing registered investment company fund groups to fundamentally rethink how they govern and execute fair value determinations.
The 24th edition of Deloitte's Fair Valuation Pricing Survey, released October 8, 2026, finds that private-market growth, daily pricing requirements, regulatory scrutiny, and artificial intelligence are reshaping valuation operating models across the industry.
"Private-market investing is entering a more complex phase as fund groups respond to investor demand, evolving products, and increasing regulatory attention," said Paul Kraft, Investment Management Marketplace Excellence Leader and Lead Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP. "The survey highlights the importance of pairing innovation - including daily pricing and artificial intelligence - with disciplined governance, independent challenge, and human-led oversight."
Private equity and credit holdings climb
The survey, conducted in summer 2026 and drawing on responses from 95 registered investment company fund groups highlights an industry in transition. Private equity exposure increased to 51% of participating fund groups, while 33% hold private credit, a figure that remains well above the 21% reported in 2023.
Forty-six percent of fund groups reported growth in private equity positions over the past 12 months, up significantly from 26% in 2025, while 59% are actively purchasing private equity investments in their funds, an increase from 50% in the prior year.
That acceleration is driving demand for more frequent and more rigorous valuation. Financial advisors expanding client exposure to alternative investment vehicles - interval funds, business development companies, and tender-offer funds - need confidence that the marks on those positions are defensible and current. Nearly 60% of survey participants report recently launching an alternative fund product, with 55% of that group identifying projected future growth and marketing advantage as their primary rationale.
The daily pricing challenge
One of the most significant operational fault lines emerging from the survey is the gap between how often private credit is priced and how often those prices reflect a genuine reassessment of underlying assumptions.
While 48% of fund groups refresh fair valuations daily based on observable market inputs, just 4% perform a full valuation update daily that revisits unobservable inputs, cash flow assumptions and methodology. The largest share, 39%, perform that full-judgment update only quarterly.
Daily pricing that tracks interest rate benchmarks or credit spread movements is mechanically straightforward. A genuine fair value determination for a private credit position requires reworking assumptions about borrower health, collateral quality, and cash flow trajectory - work that most fund groups are still doing quarterly even as investors and regulators expect more timely marks.
Overall, 69% of fund groups now receive a spot price or range of prices for private credit from a third-party provider, up from 66% in 2025, with reliance on internal models holding steady at 17%.
The trend toward outsourcing price discovery to specialists is clear, but it transfers execution rather than responsibility; boards remain accountable under SEC Rule 2a-5, the fair value governance framework that has governed registered fund valuation since its 2022 compliance date.
AI enters the valuation workflow
Artificial intelligence is moving from conversation to practice but the governance frameworks required to manage it responsibly are not keeping up.
Seventy-seven percent of survey participants reported beginning to use or increasing their use of AI in the past year, up sharply from 35% in 2025. Among AI users, the most frequently cited tools are Microsoft Copilot at 73%, ChatGPT at 40%, and Claude at 29%.
The applications are primarily efficiency-focused. AI tools are being used to draft valuation memos and materials by 58% of AI users, for quality review by 40%, and for document intake and data extraction by 40%. Replacing professional judgment is not yet on the table - the survey describes the prevailing posture as digital-driven and human-led.
The governance gap, however, is significant. While 42% of fund groups have a formal policy for acceptable AI use, 39% report having no formal AI governance or specific control practices in place. Among those using AI in valuation, only 10% have established vendor due diligence processes for the tools they are deploying, and just 7% have implemented output logging or audit trails.
That imbalance between adoption pace and governance maturity is drawing regulatory attention. The SEC's Division of Examinations listed AI training and security controls among its fiscal year 2026 examination priorities, according to the agency's published priorities cited in the Deloitte report.
SEC scrutiny holds elevated
Valuation remains near the top of the SEC's examination agenda. Among the 19% of survey participants that reported an SEC examination in the past year, 53% said valuation policies and procedures were an area of focus, down from 58% in 2025 but above the 39% and 40% reported in 2024 and 2023 respectively. Nearly one-third also reported significant inquiries into internal valuation methodologies and the frequency of valuations for private equity, private credit, and restructured equities.
The regulatory pressure is not expected to ease. In a July 2026 statement on the regulatory agenda, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins noted the commission's interest in better facilitating retail investor participation in private markets while preserving appropriate safeguards, according to the Deloitte survey.
The Department of Labor added to that dynamic with a March 2026 proposed rule that would enable expanded private equity and private credit access through 401(k) plans, specifically requiring that any designated investment alternative be capable of timely and accurate valuation.
For fund boards and valuation committees, the message from regulators is that governance must be active, not procedural. Seventy-eight percent of fund groups now provide boards with summary data and analysis in a risk dashboard format, up from 56% in 2025, reflecting a move away from extensive detailed reporting toward key valuation indicators.
The convergence of private-market growth, AI adoption, and regulatory scrutiny is, as Deloitte's survey puts it, complexity that is here to stay. Fund groups (and the advisors who distribute their products) are on notice.
