General partner (GP)

A general partner is the manager of a fund, responsible for strategy, sourcing, investing, managing the portfolio and returning capital to LPs. The GP typically earns a management fee and a share of profits (carried interest) and bears management liability.

Relevant to fund placement and private markets.

A general partner manages the fund — setting strategy, sourcing and managing investments and returning capital — while a limited partner commits capital without managing it, with liability limited to its commitment. The GP typically earns a management fee and carried interest; the LP receives returns net of those economics.

A general partner is typically paid a management fee for running the fund and carried interest, a share of the profits the fund generates. This structure is intended to align the GP’s incentives with those of the limited partners whose capital it invests and manages.