Redefining performance reporting for alternative funds
Understanding the challenges, opportunities, and practical steps for successful implementation
With regulatory pressure intensifying and investor expectations rising, IFRS 18 arrives at a defining moment for the alternatives industry. Far from being a routine reporting update, the new standard represents a fundamental shift in how financial performance is presented, compared, and explained.
For alternative investment funds—operating in a capital- and return-driven environment where operating and investing activities often overlap—IFRS 18 brings greater clarity, but also significant new challenges. The standard requires a clearer separation of operating performance from other investment returns, greater discipline in defining performance measures, and enhanced transparency in explaining how value is created.
Successful implementation will require far more than revising a profit and loss template. Fund managers and fund service providers will need to reassess accounting policies, rethink data pipelines, and ensure their systems can deliver the level of granularity IFRS 18 demands. While the standard becomes effective in 2027, organisations that begin preparing now will be better positioned to meet compliance requirements and distinguish themselves through clearer, more credible performance reporting.
In this research paper, we illustrate how IFRS 18 reshapes the presentation of performance for an alternative fund, highlighting the key challenges and opportunities that are likely to arise in practice. Discover how your organisation can stay ahead by exploring the full implications of IFRS 18 and the steps needed to prepare for confident and compliant implementation.