This interview was originally published in the PFCFO's 2026 Future of Fund Services report.
As the private markets evolve to support increasingly complex operating demands, GPs have to rethink their outsourcing strategy, says Juniper Square’s senior director of fund accounting, Dorota Kowalski.
Q. Why are larger managers revisiting the fully outsourced model, and what’s prompting this review?
Kowalski: Managers are not necessarily questioning outsourcing itself; they are questioning the traditional outsourcing model. Historically, the decision to outsource was based on cost and efficiency. More than just delegating back-office tasks to a third-party provider, GPs now want an operations partner who anticipates their needs, offers best-practice solutions drawn from a breadth of experience, and provides guidance. The relationship is now a collaboration in which GPs expect transparency and accelerated responses, as well as best-in-breed technological support and access to the expertise behind that technology. They want a partner who can add meaningful value to their operational set-up.
Central to this relationship is the partner’s ability to service GPs and their LPs through an integrated platform – like what we’ve built at Juniper Square – that serves as a single point of access to all information about the fund and its performance. The shift is not outsourcing vs insourcing. It’s about moving from just outsourcing tasks to partnering on operations.
Q. How does that change the way you work as a fund administrator?
Kowalski: Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all service bundle, firms in this space work with GPs to understand how their operating models are evolving and to support the functions that make the most sense to outsource.
With large teams of accounting professionals across the industry, we bring a broad industry perspective to those discussions. Having seen how thousands of firms are addressing complexity – from structuring evergreen vehicles to navigating evolving tax and accounting implications – we can help clients think through not just execution, but how their operating model should evolve as the industry grows more complex.
The role of fund administration has also expanded into that of an operations partner, combining technology, data, and fund services to help managers scale. Modern platforms allow GPs to replace disparate point solutions with a single source of truth that structures all LP, investment, and fund data, and gives them access to experts to scale execution and reduce operational burden.
Whether it’s shadow accounting, co-sourcing, or our operations partner approach, the most effective models are collaborative. These hybrid models offer the GP varying levels of control and flexibility over internal functions while leveraging specialized partners to run the operational engine.
Ultimately, what a GP chooses to keep in-house versus outsource depends on what defines the firm and its relationships – its strategy, resources, and appetite for operational ownership. The key difference today is that GPs have more choices than ever, including models designed not just to process work but to strengthen the firm’s operational foundation.
Q. What technology, data management tools or systems do GPs need to have in place to satisfy LPs’ operational requirements?
Kowalski: Operational technology should be a catalyst for growth, not a constraint on ambition. GPs need a single source of truth across accounting, investor reporting, and portfolio data.
Additionally, operational transparency is no longer a courtesy; it is a condition of capital. LPs want an “Amazon-level” transparency experience, a platform that mimics their public markets investing experience: fast decision-making and outputs, high-frequency reporting, and access to that data.
Lastly, we are moving toward a self-service model in which AI-powered portals allow LPs to stress-test their own ‘what-if’ scenarios and benchmark performance on demand. A fragmented tech stack is no longer just an administrative headache; it is a fiduciary risk. For the modern GP, a unified data system isn’t just a back-office tool – it is the primary engine of investor trust.
Q. The entry of private wealth and retail capital into private markets is increasing the operational burden carried by back-office teams. How is that impacting outsourcing needs?
Kowalski: The expansion into private wealth is probably the industry’s biggest operational shift in decades. Institutional funds may have a few dozen investors. Retail-oriented vehicles can have thousands. That changes everything – from subscription processing to reporting, compliance, and investor communication.
Retailization is the great scalability stress test. The challenge is no longer just complexity; it’s complexity combined with volume and velocity. If you have 50 LPs, you can survive on spreadsheets. If you have 5,000, that model breaks down very quickly. Retail products require large-scale AML (anti-money laundering) and KYC (know your customer) processes, frequent transactions, and a much higher reporting and investor communication cadence.
That’s why many GPs are realizing they can’t simply hire more people to manage the workload. Retail requires industrial-grade operational infrastructure, supported by both technology and experienced operators.
We see the role of fund operations evolving in that direction. Centralizing operational data that was previously scattered across PDFs, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems creates a more reliable foundation for scaling.
With that data foundation in place, AI tools can automate tasks such as extracting subscription terms, drafting LP communications, or flagging accounting issues. That allows firms to serve a much broader investor base without dramatically expanding their teams.
Q: What other impact is AI having on the outsourcing relationship?
Kowalski: With the right partner and infrastructure, AI only accelerates operations. For instance, onboarding retail or
high-net-worth investors can be an administrative nightmare of missing documents and expired IDs.
AI workflows proactively flag or even chase investors for missing information, cross-reference beneficial owners against global sanctions lists, and auto-verify accreditation status.
This removes much of the administrative friction of fundraising, allowing the GP to focus on capital allocation rather than chasing 1,000 resubscription signatures. But a unified data platform is essential. With that, GPs can provide a single, AI-verified version of the truth that satisfies even the most rigorous LP due diligence.
Q: The outsourcing space is evolving fast. What does the future look like for the outsourcing model?
Kowalski: For a long time, many GPs saw outsourcing as a way to hand off manual operational tasks to a third party. Today, that model is evolving into something much more collaborative.
GPs aren’t looking for someone who simply records transactions. They’re looking for an operations partner who helps them navigate complexity and scale their business. That’s part of what drew me to Juniper Square, the opportunity to help drive that shift.
The future of fund operations will be built around a shared platform and a single source of truth, where GPs and their operations partners work within the same ecosystem. That allows investment teams to focus on what they do best, deploying capital and building investor relationships. At the same time, technology and AI-powered tools handle the growing operational demands of modern private markets.