# Stanford Search Fund Study (2026)

Stanford's biennial study of search fund returns.

Stanford GSB's biennial study of traditional search funds, 862 funds formed in the US and Canada since 1984, with data through December 31, 2025, covering formation trends, outcomes, and aggregate returns. The 2026 edition puts the aggregate internal rate of return at 33.9% and the return on invested capital at 4.75x, reports that 58% of all search funds since 1996 acquired a company and about half of those formed between 2021 and 2024 did, and adds a public market equivalent of 2.88, which is new to this edition. It also breaks out 67 companies bought to be held for decades for the first time, and puts the median purchase price at $16 million with roughly 20 months from launch to acquisition.

- Category: Education & Programs
- Pricing model: Free
- Where it fits: Learn & Choose Your Path
- Website: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/case-studies/2026-search-fund-study-selected-observations

## At a Glance

Read it to understand traditional-search economics, just know it says nothing about [self-funded search](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/self-funded-search).

## What It Costs

Free (Stanford GSB case E967, 30 pages, authors Peter Kelly, Stefanos Zenios and Dom Ng).

## Best For

Understanding the traditional path's real economics, and arming investor conversations with hard numbers

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: A biennial dataset on the traditional [search fund](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/search-fund) segment, running since the 1990s
- Pro: Fresh: 2026 edition released ~July 1, 2026 with data through year-end 2025
- Pro: Aggregate return figures (33.9% [IRR](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/irr), 4.75x ROIC) carry weight with investors
- Con: Covers only 'core' multi-investor funds; it explicitly excludes the self-funded/SBA segment most buyers are in
- Con: 'Selected observations' format: headline aggregates, not the raw dataset

## What Searchers Say

Corroborated within a week of release by CapitalPad, Search Funds News, and others. Note: the 2026 edition supersedes widely-quoted 2024 figures (681 funds, 35.1% IRR), which are no longer the numbers the study reports.

## Sources

- https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/case-studies/2026-search-fund-study-selected-observations
- https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/about/centers-institutes/ces/research/search-funds
- https://capitalpad.com/search-fund-statistics/

Also on this site: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/category/education.md
Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/stanford-search-fund-study-2026
Last checked: 2026-09-07

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt