Fundraising in private debt, private equity and real estate fell in 2020, while enthusiasm for infrastructure investing grew in a volatile 2020, Preqin data released Thursday showed.
Private equity managers raised $611 billion globally in 1,418 funds closed in 2020, down from $709.3 billion raised by 1,886 funds in 2019.
Venture capital deal value for 2020 totaled $299 billion, a new record surpassing the previous high in 2018 of $289 billion, and the end-of-year exit value reached $365 billion, more than double the previous high of $179 billion.
The vast majority of investors, 89%, plan to maintain or increase commitments in 2021.
Private equity assets under management totaled $4.74 trillion as of June 30, the most recent data available.
Private debt managers worldwide raised $118 billion in 200 funds in 2020, down from $132 billion raised by 223 funds in 2019. While the number and value of deals fell in 2020, the average size of individual funds increased to $84.8 million in 2020 from $70.9 million the year before.
Looking ahead to 2021, 47% of investors expect to increase their commitments in 2021, while 40% expect to maintain their current investment levels.
Despite the decrease in fundraising volume and value, private debt assets under management reached a record $887 billion as of June 30, the most recent data available.
Real estate activity was reduced due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, 283 funds raised $118 billion, down from $179 billion raised by 494 funds in 2019.
The 10 largest funds represented 34% of the total amount raised in 2020.
Despite the challenges of 2020, 36% of investors expect to increase allocations to real estate in 2021.
Real estate AUM reached $1.09 trillion as of June 30, the most recent data available.
In infrastructure, 101 unlisted funds raised a total of $100 billion in 2020, and infrastructure AUM reached $655 billion as of June 30.
Also, value-added and infrastructure debt dry powder grew to $70 billion and $32 billion, respectively.
Eighty-nine percent of investors said performance exceeded or met expectations in 2020, a higher percentage than any other asset class, and 54% of investors plan to commit more to the asset class in 2021 than the previous year.
