Private Markets Outlook 2026: A New Continuum (BlackRock)

Summary

• The number of listed US domestic companies has fallen from 8,000 in the mid-1990s to fewer than 4,500 today.p.5
• Limited partners represented US$56 billion of closed secondaries volume in the first six months of 2025, a 40% increase over the same period in 2024.p.16
• Secondaries managers raised US$130 billion through the first three quarters of 2025.p.17
• Global data-center demand is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 20% through 2030, with an estimated investment requirement of US$1.5 trillion.p.13
• Achieving net zero will require over US$100 trillion of investments by 2050, approximately US$40 trillion of which relate directly to infrastructure.p.13
• By 2040, the gap between the historical pace of infrastructure investment and projected funding needs is projected to be US$15 trillion.p.14

Key insights

1. Investors continue to list the exit environment for private assets as a primary concern.p.5
2. Public and corporate pensions made up 48% of LP secondaries volume.p.16
3. There were eight continuation vehicle transactions of more than US$2 billion each in the first half of 2025, matching the full-year total for 2024.p.16
4. 34% of GP-led deals included cross-fund commitments by GPs in the first half of 2025.p.16
5. Secondaries are on pace to surpass US$200B in transaction volume for 2025.p.17
6. The eight largest secondaries buyers represent 50% of total available dry powder.p.17
7. Since 2005, more than US$200 billion has been raised across more than 2,400 direct co-investment funds globally.p.19
8. In the first half of 2025, offices represented only 13% of real estate transaction volumes, compared with around 37% until 2008.p.20
9. 39% of real estate investors plan to buy into data center properties.p.22