Transforming
Performance
Evidence on how private capital drives transformation
A study of 129 private equity and venture capital firms.
With more than €2 trillion in assets under management.
The study is available exclusively to project partners and participants from 30 October and to everyone from 3 November.
Pioneering transparency initiative
Why private equity is in focus
Objectifying transformation performance
Added value for investment practice
The transformation of the economy is necessary – and already underway. Transparency regarding transformation performance has so far not kept pace. Now Transforming Performance shows for the first time, based on robust data, how private equity and venture capital firms position themselves on transformation and how to recognise firms with pronounced transformation competence.
Why private equity
is in focus
The development of new technologies and their scaling, like the transformation of business models, typically take place outside public markets. Private equity and venture capital actively support established companies in their transformation or scale the technologies of tomorrow – and so play a decisive part in shaping the successful companies of the future.
Objectifying
transformation performance
Until now, standardised data has been lacking on how and to what extent private equity and venture capital firms reflect transformation in their structures, decision logic and portfolios, and what return effects they experience. Transforming Performance closes this gap and enables a fair comparison among peers.
Added value
for investment practice
Based on compact checklists, investors can assess the status quo, recognise good transformation practice and direct capital specifically to where transformation ambition and competence come together. Private equity and venture capital firms can locate their own position and, if interested, derive further steps.
What the report delivers:
The findings in seven chapters
Epochal shift
and capital commitment
Why transformationis inevitable and yet
no automatism
The project
Transforming Performance
ConceptMethod
Sample
The engine room
of transformation
StrategiesProcesses
Responsibilities
Transformation reality
in allocation
DynamicsExposures
Performance
The market
as a sum of maturity clusters
EntryAscent
Mastery
Between commitment
and implementation
AnchoringStructural penetration
Integration
Implications
for practice
InvestorsFund managers
Policy
The report
in full
All chapters as a PDF (German),free of charge and without registrationFrom 3 NovemberAll downloads ↓
ResFutura
Prof. Dr. Yvonne Brückner
ResFutura is a leading application-oriented institute for entrepreneurial future strategies of high-net-worth individuals and families. We generate actionable insights for long-term success and help develop and implement high-performing strategies tailored to the individual case. We operate independently and are in exchange with over 250 entrepreneurial families in the DACH region, who engage as participants and supporters and make use of our knowledge.
This makes ResFutura an established, exclusive platform for exchange among peers and a capable partner for demanding strategy design.
WWF Germany
Vanessa Bolmer
WWF Germany brings extensive experience at the intersection of the real economy and the financial sector in driving sustainable transition. This includes developing scenarios and sector-specific transition requirements, translating these into corporate transition plans, and guiding portfolio steering and target-setting for investments in liquid asset classes.
WWF Germany is a strategic partner of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, supporting its goals for carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050.
Strong partners
Initiators
Funders
Associations
Initiators
Transforming Performance goes back to an initiative by several high-net-worth individuals and families who are convinced that future success requires a new way of doing business. They initiated and accompanied the project and are also its anchor funders. At their own request, they are not named.
Transforming Performance is also supported by:
Funders
Project partner
Associations
Participants
and key findings
Participants
Perceived relevance
Implementation
After more than 20 months of intensive work, Transforming Performance now provides the first broad evidence base on how private equity and venture capital firms anchor transformation in strategy, organisation, investment process and allocation. Within the broad field of transformation, the current survey focuses on climate and nature.
The participants
Data was provided by a heterogeneous group of 129 private equity and venture capital firms with a combined total of more than €2 trillion in assets under management.
Plus five firms not assigned to any of these segments.
Other: Spain, Italy, Ireland, Poland, United Arab Emirates.
Plus five firms not assigned to PE or VC.
n = 129. Source: Transforming Performance, 2026.
Transformation has reached the mainstream. Consistent anchoring remains rare so far.
89 %
integrate transformation into their investment decisions
75 %
rate transformation as relevant to their own strategy
36 %
anchor transformation in at least five of seven process phases
9 %
embed transformation without gaps, from strategy to remuneration
Base: 129 firms; first figure: 107 responding firms. Source: Transforming Performance, 2026.
Eight findings at a glance
The report provides in-depth insights and illustrates the data with a wide range of figures.
The executive summary condenses the results into eight findings.
Relevance
and anchoringNine out of ten firms take transformation into account in investment decisions. Following the chain from strategy to financial incentives, the field shrinks with every step: only nine percent anchor it without gaps.
Signal
and substanceSeven out of ten firms are members of at least one transformation or sustainability initiative. Yet anchoring remains patchy: only 38 percent of PRI signatories have concrete transformation plans and 22 percent a net-zero target.
Size
and segmentLarger firms address transformation more often, but not more deeply. The market segment makes a difference in depth, not in whether a firm addresses transformation systematically at all. Transformation competence therefore cannot be read from these structural variables.
Economics
and allocationFour out of five firms hold climate solution assets, mostly with portfolio shares well below 50 percent. The reasons are economic: industry trends and sector attractiveness, at 83 and 80 percent, rank far ahead of regulation and investor pressure.
Performance effects
and dynamicsMore than four out of ten firms report positive performance contributions, only two percent negative ones. A positive assessment of the performance contribution and the depth of anchoring correlate clearly.
Development
and maturityFour maturity clusters show the market’s stages of development: 14 percent reach the leading group, 16 percent are still at the beginning. Reaching the leading group requires, beyond the minimum score, among other things linking transformation targets to financial incentives.
Investors
and their partnersInvestor requirements work – above all where accountability is additionally formally defined. Telling transformation substance from mere signal takes specific questions, but not many. The checklists in the report provide the essential ones.
The bigger
pictureTransformation takes place where a firm recognises economic opportunities and links strategic objectives with processes, accountability and incentives. The internal coupling of these elements is a key measure of firms’ transformation competence.
Substance or signal
Questions for investors to ask GPs
Questions for GPs to assess their own status
How deep does a private equity or venture capital firm’s transformation competence go – regardless of what it declares? The check for private equity and venture capital firms asks about ten points in five levels, separately for climate and nature in each case; as a participant, you can ask us for your position relative to the 128 other participants.
For investors assessing
private equity and venture capital firms
Get an overview of where you should probe deeper in conversation with a private equity or venture capital firm to understand its transformation performance – with specific questions for your next meeting.
For private equity and
venture capital firms
Check for yourself whether the chain of elements essential to transformation holds, or where it may break, and which step comes next for an efficient deeper dive.
Self-check: We are happy to assess personally where your firm stands compared with the firms surveyed. A short email is all it takes.
Study and executive summary
Free of charge, without registration.
The study is available exclusively to project partners and participants from 30 October and to everyone from 3 November.
The study
Transforming Performance. Wer die Erfolgsunternehmen von morgen entwickelt
Full study, German, including the checklists for investors and for private equity and venture capital firms
Executive Summary
Key findings on a few pages
Stay informed
Press
In these articles and conversations, we describe our project:
- Absolut Report05/2026„Transforming Performance: Log-in versus Lock-in“
- portfolio institutionell22.09.2026„Transformationskompetenz hilft im Fundraising“
- Absolut Report01/2026„Family Offices als Transformationstreiber: Neue Chancen für Private Equity“
- portfolio institutionell02.12.2025„Transforming Performance in der Beteiligungsbranche“
- Close the DealPodcast„Wie UHNWIs und Family Offices investieren“
- Tagesspiegel Background„Forscherinnen nehmen Private Equity ins Visier“
- VC Magazin21.07.2025„Junge Vermögensinhaber machen sich für Venture Capital stark“
Press enquiries: kontakt@resfutura.org (ResFutura) · presse@wwf.de (WWF Germany)
Questions about the project
What does transformation mean in this study?
It refers to the transformation of companies to secure their long-term ability to succeed under changed geopolitical, technological, ecological and demographic conditions. The study focuses on two areas, climate and nature, which are economically material in terms of adaptation and mitigation and at the same time offer the necessary data availability.
Why did GPs participate?
Participants have a so far unique opportunity for independent benchmarking. Anyone who wants to shape future-proof companies will find in Transforming Performance a useful basis for internal assessment, strategy development and credible communication with investors.
What data does the project analyze?
Transforming Performance collected reliable information on firms’ transformation position, including strategic relevance assessment, strategies, information on the investment process, governance and incentive systems, as well as concrete portfolio facts. Both qualitative and quantitative aspects were captured.
What happens next?
The research and strategy report (in German) and the executive summary will be available for download here from 3 November. As a next step, we will discuss the findings and their implications for action with investment firms and investors in a range of formats. If you would like to be kept informed about upcoming activities or would like a direct exchange, please get in touch.
Would you like to discuss the results?
We look forward to hearing from you, whether you are an investor, a fund manager or a participating firm.