The 2026 response saw a combination old and new woes when it comes to internal resources. While challenges identified by the CIO Sentiment Survey over the years including personal time constraints, understaffed internal team, and lack of necessary system and tools remain, a new pressure point has emerged in the latest edition of the survey: data or AI talents constraints (for a more detailed breakdown of the topic, please refer to the Special Theme section). 

“I think everyone in our industry is somewhat time poor, so I wouldn't necessarily characterise myself as any different. But my job is fantastic and a big part of it is to work with my team. I really need to support and enable them, and that's a really critical part,” QIC’s Allison Hill says of the personal time challenge. 

“I've got a fantastic leadership team and broader team here at state investments and QIC that I work with, that means that I can focus on the areas that where I can add value, and my team have clear delegations responsibilities to build the various areas of the portfolio.”

Most have plans to expand the investment team, with a net 26 per cent of respondents saying they will increase headcount in the department.

The respondents are least worried about hybrid working environment and sustainability goals.

The hiring speed across all function, from risk management to legal, have slowed down compared to 2025. Planned headcount change across all function are in the net positive territory, which means more asset owners are looking to increase headcount than those reducing it.