Top Private Equity Groups Capture Largest Fundraising Share Over A Decade

Jan 8, 2026 - 15:00

Mega-funds secure 46% of capital raised in 2025 as industry consolidates amid prolonged liquidity pressures and challenging exit environment

The private equity industry is experiencing its most dramatic consolidation in over a decade, with the ten largest funds capturing 45.7% of all capital raised in 2025—up sharply from 34.5% in 2024 and marking the highest concentration of fundraising among mega-firms since records began. This accelerating trend toward industry giants reflects both the struggles of smaller managers to secure commitments in a difficult environment and limited partners’ flight to quality as prolonged liquidity pressures constrain their ability to deploy fresh capital across broader portfolios.

According to PitchBook’s 2025 private equity outlook report, just 41 new funds closed during the year—the lowest count on record—while total fundraising declined 23% year-over-year to $259 billion through the first three quarters, down from $372.6 billion in 2024. Yet despite this overall contraction, the top ten funds raised $118.3 billion, maintaining their absolute fundraising power while dramatically increasing their market share. The divergence highlights a two-tiered industry where established mega-funds with diversified strategies and strong track records continue attracting capital while mid-market and emerging managers face extended fundraising cycles and reduced commitments.

The Mega-Fund Dominance: KKR, Blackstone, and EQT Lead

The Private Equity International PEI 300 rankings for 2025 illustrate this concentration, with KKR topping the list after raising $117.9 billion over the past five years—driven significantly by its record-breaking $19 billion North America Fund XIII that closed in April. Stockholm-based EQT follows with $113.3 billion raised, making it Europe’s largest private equity firm, while Blackstone—which had dominated rankings for much of the past decade—slipped to third with $95.7 billion but remains an industry cornerstone with $1 trillion in total assets under management.

Chicago’s Thoma Bravo captured fourth position with $88.2 billion raised, demonstrating the power of sector specialization through its concentrated focus on software and technology-driven business services. The top 300 firms collectively raised $3.13 trillion—up $530 billion from the prior year despite broader industry headwinds—underscoring how the largest managers have insulated themselves from market turbulence through established limited partner relationships, diversified strategies spanning private equity, credit, infrastructure, and real estate, and demonstrated ability to navigate challenging exit environments.

The concentration extends beyond the top ten. Funds exceeding $10 billion in size now represent nearly 40% of total private equity fundraising, surging from just 5% in 2011. In H1 2025 specifically, 77.4% of capital flowed to funds exceeding $1 billion—the second-highest proportion in a decade—while experienced managers who have raised four or more funds captured 87.6% of total commitments. This “flight to familiar” reflects limited partners’ risk aversion amid unprecedented market conditions: a backlog of 30,000+ portfolio companies awaiting exit, record-long average holding periods exceeding six years for 35% of assets, and four consecutive years of constrained distributions that have severely limited LPs’ ability to recycle capital into new commitments.

Liquidity Crisis Drives Consolidation

The fundraising concentration directly reflects the private equity industry’s liquidity crisis. Exit activity, while improving from 2023-2024 lows, remains well below levels needed to clear the portfolio backlog accumulated during the 2020-2021 buying spree. Higher interest rates increased the cost of capital and raised return hurdles, making it difficult for general partners to monetize assets at valuations exceeding purchase prices. The resulting slowdown in distributions has left institutional investors—pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds—overallocated to private equity relative to their target percentages, constraining their ability to commit to new funds regardless of interest.

This dynamic disproportionately impacts smaller managers. While mega-funds can leverage existing relationships, demonstrate track records across market cycles, and offer diversified exposures that justify concentration risk, emerging and mid-market managers struggle to differentiate themselves or prove they can deliver superior returns that warrant additional concentration in LP portfolios already stretched thin. The data confirms this bifurcation: only 12.4% of 2025 H1 capital went to managers raising their first four funds, down from historical averages exceeding 20%.

Secondaries funds have emerged as primary beneficiaries of this environment, raising $70.9 billion in H1 2025 alone—approaching the $107.6 billion raised for all of 2024—as investors seek alternative liquidity solutions. However, even secondaries fundraising has consolidated, with 42% of 2025 funds exceeding $1 billion compared to just 15% historically. The shift from niche solution to core portfolio strategy reflects structural changes in how institutional investors manage private capital allocations amid persistent liquidity constraints.

Fee Compression and Strategic Implications

The concentration trend carries significant implications for industry economics. Management fees hit record lows in 2025, averaging just 1.61% of assets—well below the legacy 2% standard—as managers offer discounts to secure commitments in a difficult environment. Yet this fee compression primarily impacts mid-market and smaller firms competing for scarce capital. Mega-funds leverage scale advantages to maintain profitability despite lower percentage fees: $100 billion at 1.5% generates $1.5 billion annually versus $1 billion at 2% producing $20 million. The math favors size.

Private credit has followed similar consolidation patterns, with 94.3% of H1 2025 capital flowing to experienced managers even as the asset class raised robust $114.2 billion through June. Infrastructure emerged as the standout performer, with aggregate capital raised surging 70% year-over-year in Q1-Q3 2025 as mega-funds targeting energy transition, data centers, and telecommunications infrastructure attracted substantial commitments from institutions seeking inflation protection and yield.

Regional Dynamics and Future Outlook

Geographic patterns reinforce consolidation themes. North America captured 68.4% of private equity capital in H1 2025—well above its decade average of 60.5%—as investors prioritized familiarity amid uncertainty. Europe’s share rose to 25.9% while Asia plummeted to just 6.3%, down from 25.2% in 2018, reflecting geopolitical tensions and slower economic growth constraining regional allocations.

Looking forward, industry observers expect concentration to persist through 2026. PitchBook predicts more than 40% of fundraising will flow to the ten largest funds next year, maintaining current elevated levels. The structural drivers—limited LP liquidity, extended holding periods, challenging exits, and mega-funds’ competitive advantages in scale, diversification, and distribution—show no signs of abating. Smaller managers face existential challenges: raise capital by offering unsustainable fee discounts, consolidate through mergers, or exit the business entirely.

For limited partners, concentration creates different risks. Allocating 46% of commitments to just ten managers increases portfolio concentration and reduces diversification benefits that historically justified private equity allocations. Yet faced with constrained capital and competing priorities, many LPs conclude that backing proven managers with resources to navigate difficult markets outweighs diversification concerns—at least until the liquidity cycle turns and distributions resume at levels supporting broader portfolio construction.