Three bright spots on the fundraising horizon in 2025

From the rise of private wealth to the narrowing gap between capital calls and distributions, any small sign of positive data in H2 can aid those private capital GPs out on the road meeting LPs and raising funds.

Following our full breakdown in H1, State of Private Capital Fundraising in 2025, this article serves to remind readers that private capital is an evolving industry that has weathered many cycles and downturns and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

Although new commitments and re-ups are harder to win, GPs will hope that the reset has started, and the bright spots in the data will continue to develop this story.

Fig. 1: The narrowing gap between capital calls and distributions suggests a better fundraising environment to follow
Private capital net capital distributed, 2015 – September 2024

_{Source: Preqin. Data as of June 2025}

The chart above (Fig. 1) shows the difference between capital called up by GPs near the start of the fund’s journey and returns distributed to LPs towards the end of a fund’s life. The difference between the two – ‘calls’ and ‘distributions’ – offers a helpful glance at the capital available to LPs in the months ahead, potentially giving investors more capital to redeploy in the future:

• 2015 was the last year capital distributions ($853.2bn) were greater than the capital calls ($672.6bn).

• 2023 saw a $388.6bn difference between the distributions ($1.3tn) and capital calls ($1.7tn).

• The latest data up to September 2024 shows how that gap has narrowed to $72.6bn, the lowest difference since 2017.

Fig. 2: The number of family offices with allocations to private markets has risen fivefold over the decade
Number of LPs that allocate to private markets by LP type, 2016 – H1 2025

_{Source: Preqin. Data as of June 2025}

• Private wealth investors have become an important source of new capital, with their allocation percentage rising over 400% from 2016 and at a higher rate than traditional LP types.

• The number of family offices tracked by Preqin that are exposed to private markets has increased by 524% since 2016.

• Although starting from a lower base, this compares favorably with the growth in the number of pension funds and insurance companies allocating to private capital, which has increased by 100% over the decade.

• Private equity and real estate are particularly attractive to private wealth investors, with private debt also quickly becoming an area of interest. Read more here.

Fig. 3: Investor demand drives fund creation through all economic weather conditions
Historical funds in market by asset class, global

_{Source: Preqin. Data as of June 2025}

The number of private equity and real estate funds in market increased in the first half of 2025 compared with the second half of 2024. The same was true for infrastructure and natural resources, albeit to a lesser degree.

Although the time taken to close funds across all private capital has risen – from an average of 16 months in 2020 to 25 months in July 2025 – total funds in market have increased by over 240% since 2020, according to Preqin Pro. Fund growth can reflect private market innovation in the form of new structures and offerings to address timely concerns, namely liquidity. Read more here.

_{The opinions and facts included within the above do not constitute investment advice. Professional advice should be sought before making any investment or other decisions. Preqin accepts no liability for any decisions taken in relation to the above.}