Private equity’s comeback is missing one key ingredient

In the world of private equity, the mood is decidedly more upbeat. Despite tariff uncertainty and rising equity valuations, sponsors have managed to reel in some big fish, with the whale being the $55bn buyout of Electronic Arts. And with the listings window cracking open, even in stagnant Europe, there is hope that the sector may finally sell down part of the $3tn asset pile it has amassed. The latest data suggests an uptick is already under way. In Europe, sponsors sold some €90bn of assets in the third quarter says PitchBook. Globally, industry exits have grown to $871bn so far this year, which is already higher than the total achieved in 2022 and 2023, and, at the current rate, on track to beat 2024. READ MORE

VC secondaries continue to grow, but GP-led deals are lagging

Annual GP-led VC secondaries have reached around $14.6 billion and are projected to grow by $1.5 billion in the next two years, according to a new PitchBook analyst note. Direct secondaries, meanwhile, are hovering around $60 billion in annual transactions, up from $50 billion last year.

“The biggest takeaway is that the GP-led secondaries market has grown in recent years because of the exits stalemate—but because the market has inherent limitations, both on the buyer side and the seller side, its growth is limited to a small universe of potential venture firms that can spin out continuation funds and strip sales,” said Emily Zheng, a senior VC research analyst at PitchBook. READ MORE

3 Reasons to Care About Private Markets Even if You’re Not Investing in Them

Bringing private markets to the masses is the talk of the investment world these days. As more capital formation takes place beyond public exchanges, efforts are underway to give retail investors access to private equity and private credit. Semiliquid funds offer one route. Private assets may even be coming to 401(k) plans.

Skeptics suspect a cash grab. As much as phrases like “democratizing access” sound altruistic, private market investment managers see retail assets as a means of growing their businesses. Private market funds are known for high fees, illiquidity, and opacity. Their diversification and performance benefits can be oversold. READ MORE

A sophisticated VC strategy that’s not worth as much to LPs as you’d think

LPs like to think that selecting top fund managers means a greater likelihood of blockbuster returns. And that conventional wisdom is especially prevalent in venture capital, where a few well-timed bets can yield truly incredible returns.

But new research from PitchBook suggests that in most cases, the ability to pick superior GPs may not generate any more alpha in venture capital than in buyouts, an asset class where the gap between the best and worst managers is narrower. READ MORE

Private Equity’s Profit Charade

In my previous post, I explained why investments in private equity firms that buy and manage companies with the intent of changing them so they can be sold for a profit are especially risky. Those risks are ultimately being borne by a large segment of the population because public pension management institutions that hold the pension funds of public schoolteachers and other state workers are often large investors in private equity. 

Yet, as I also pointed out, those high risks might be justified if the returns from investments in private equity were especially large. But are they? READ MORE

'Shark Tank' Judge And Canadian Businessman Kevin O’Leary Breaks Down How To Win Over Investors

Every entrepreneur has a defining moment. For Canadian businessman and investor Kevin O’Leary, it occurred in the 11th grade.

O’Leary, nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful,” shared with AFROTECH™ that he was fired from an ice cream shop after working only a few hours as a scooper. The shop’s owner instructed him to scrape the tile floors, which he refused to do since it was not in his job description. READ MORE

Why Private Equity Is Making Small-Cap Investing Harder

It’s getting tough out there for the little guys.

Small-cap stocks have started to lose some of their performance zing compared with large caps. The reason: Private equity and venture capital firms have been snapping up many promising small companies that otherwise would likely have gone public, wresting those potentially lucrative opportunities away from public investors. Over the past two years there has been a widening gap in quality between large-cap and small-cap stocks, according to a recent Morningstar analysis. That includes returns on assets, returns on equity, net margin and debt-to-capital ratios showing that overall, small-cap stocks have increasingly weaker fundamentals compared with large caps, Morningstar passive strategies analyst Zachary Evens said. READ MORE

Why Venture Capital Needs To Eliminate This Blind Spot

You’ve likely heard the grim statistic that women receive less than two percent of venture capital (VC) funding. Within that low number, women over 50 are nearly invisible in the funding landscape. Silicon Valley touts the skills of the youth and eagerly invests in these founders, but I’d like to challenge the myth that innovation only belongs to the young talent out there.

Women over 50 are a group of innovators who largely get ignored and passed over, but this is a missed opportunity. If investors are looking for the next successful business, they might not want to overlook the women who don’t fit the Silicon Valley mold. It’s a well-known fact that the best portfolios thrive off diversity and investing in founders is no different. READ MORE

A Guide to Raising Venture Capital in 2025

Getting off the ground is less about ideas and more about capital for many small business owners and startup founders. Great ideas, dedicated teams and solutions that herald breakthroughs are most often left unattended due to the one resource needed to propel any stage of growth: money.

While the media spotlights billion-dollar valuations and massive fundraising rounds, the truth is that most founders are navigating a financial system that wasn’t built for them. Access to venture capital is often reserved for the well-networked or already established, leaving early-stage entrepreneurs on the outside looking in. READ MORE

Here’s what Andreessen Horowitz’s leaked decks mean for the future of venture capital

Last week, two Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) LP decks leaked to Newcomer. As far as I (and Google and ChatGPT) can tell, this is only the second time ever that internal Andreessen Horowitz documents have leaked. The firm is notoriously secretive.

I am much too humble and my fund is much too insignificant to seriously believe that my Substack from September 3—“Andreessen Horowitz is not a Venture Capital Fund”—and its subsequent republishing on Fast Company could possibly have annoyed the Sand Hill Road behemoth so much that it decided to leak its own LP deck for the first time in history.  READ MORE

Venture's Returns On Capital Not Reflecting Well On The Business

What underlying fundamental trends can indicate that a company might be in decline? More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. In light of that, from a first glance at Venture (SGX:V03), we've spotted some signs that it could be struggling, so let's investigate. READ MORE

More than half of all venture capital money will flow into AI start-ups in 2025

Major players like Anthropic and xAI have secured multi-billion dollar rounds, while smaller startups outside the AI sector are finding it harder to raise money. Kyle Sanford at PitchBook describes the result as a split market - it's either AI or not.

In the US, 62.7 percent of VC funding went to AI companies, compared to 53.2 percent worldwide. In total, global VC investment for 2025 stands at $366.8 billion, with $250.2 billion coming from the US. READ MORE

Q3 Venture Funding Jumps 38% As More Massive Rounds Go To AI Giants And Exits Gain Steam

Global venture funding gained significantly in Q3 2025, closing up 38% year over year, Crunchbase data shows, as massive funding deals, particularly for giants in the AI sector, continued to lead.

All told, Q3 venture investment reached $97 billion, up from $70 billion in Q3 2024, per Crunchbase data. Quarter-over-quarter  funding was up slightly from $92 billion in Q2.  READ MORE

This new twist on venture capital is transforming investing

In recent years, Venture Capital-as-a-Service (VCaaS) has become more predominant since it offers more flexibility than the traditional VC model. It is designed perfectly for corporations, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds that want to engage in startup investment without managing a full-fledged VC team. Let’s understand the mechanics behind VCaaS and why corporations are embracing it. READ MORE

AI venture funding continued to surge in third quarter, data shows

As the rush towards AI-related companies continues on Wall Street, data from Crunchbase showed on Monday that the sector enjoyed a bulk of venture funding in the third quarter, with names including Anthropic raking in billions.

BY THE NUMBERS

Global venture funding in the third quarter increased 38% year-over-year to $97 billion, increasing slightly from $92 billion in the second quarter. READ MORE

Tesla exec speaks out on Elon Musk's $1 trillion compensation package: 'There aren't any other people out there like Elon'

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison have recently engaged in an unofficial battle for the title of the wealthiest person on the planet, with each amassing a net worth of around $400 billion.

But following the news of Musk's eye-popping compensation package proposal, he may soon run away with that title with little opposition. READ MORE

Can I Invest My 401(k) Account in Private Equity?

On August 7, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14330, Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors (the Order), directing the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue guidance that facilitates investment in “alternative assets” by participants in 401(k) and other defined contribution (DC) plans. The stated goal of the Order is to give all retirement plan participants access to the same benefits of alternative investments—potentially higher returns and diversification of risk—that are already enjoyed by large investors and governmental plans.

Although many commentators have focused on the risks of allowing individuals with limited investment experience to direct their retirement savings into, say cryptocurrency, the Order is in fact both broader and narrower than that example. It is broader in that it covers plan investments not only in digital assets such as crypto, but also private equity and debt, precious metals, real estate, infrastructure projects, and lifetime income insurance products. It is narrower, however, in that the Order itself (as opposed to its statement of purpose) focuses almost exclusively on investment through an asset allocation fund, such as a target date or lifecycle fund. This article will address questions raised by the Order. READ MORE

As the $11 Trillion Industry Stalls, Experts Warn of Uncertain Future

The Federal Reserve cut rates again, but analysts say cheaper money won't fix private equity's (PE) massive problem. Traditionally, they'd take companies public on the stock market for huge profits, but that exit door has narrowed shut, down 46% in 2024 from the previous five-year average.1

"Private equity firms are increasingly trading assets among themselves or accepting lower returns," Kevin Khang, Vanguard's senior international economist, noted in recent analysis.2 "The $11 trillion industry's aggressive use of leverage, which once defined the model, is now being reined in, forcing a strategic rethink." READ MORE