SeRuM
Get in touch
Get in touch
Home / Glossary / Allocator

Allocator

An institution or individual that allocates capital to external managers — pensions, endowments, foundations, insurers, fund of funds, family offices, and the consultants advising them. Used loosely as a synonym for LP.

Allocator — An institution or individual that allocates capital to external managers — pensions, endowments, foundations, insurers, fund of funds, family offices, and the consultants advising them. Used loosely as a synonym for LP.

The term is used loosely across the industry to mean any capital source — a synonym for LP in most contexts, though some use it more narrowly for institutions that place capital with multiple external managers as their primary function, as distinct from a single-family office managing its own money directly.

Frequently asked questions

Is allocator the same as LP?
Functionally, almost always yes in everyday industry usage — both describe an entity or person providing capital to a fund manager.
Do allocators include individual investors?
Usually the term implies some degree of professional or institutional capital deployment, though usage varies and individual qualified purchasers are sometimes included.

Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or investment advice. SeRuM is not a registered broker-dealer, not a placement agent, and not an investment adviser.

Next step

Tell us what you're raising.

Entity type, target size, timeline. That's enough for us to tell you quickly whether we can help — and to say so plainly if we can't.