Last year was not an especially good one for the private equity (PE) space.

As Bloomberg News reported Monday (Feb. 23), PE firms returned fewer profits to their investors for the fourth consecutive year, with the industry sitting on $3.8 trillion in unsold assets, and struggling to raise cash for new funds.

Distributions as a percentage of net asset value remained at 14% for 2025, which was the second-lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, the report said, citing data from Bain & Co. In addition, this rut has persisted for longer than what PE firms faced 17 years ago. READ MORE