Private Markets Perspectives: Five Private Markets Trends to Watch

3Q 2026

Private markets have become an increasingly important engine of capital formation, innovation and economic growth, representing one of the most significant shifts in global investing over the last several decades. As a leading private markets platform with broad connectivity across investors, businesses, and investment managers, Blue Owl has a unique vantage point on the trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the industry's future. Our goal is to deliver these insights to you.

Each quarter, Private Markets Perspectives highlights five key private markets trends we’ve identified through our partnerships with 75+ of the largest alternative asset managers in the world, who collectively represent $2.5 trillion in AUM.¹

KEY TAKEAWAY #1

Despite recent short-term fundraising and liquidity challenges, investor demand for private markets remains strong.

Private capital AUM has increased from roughly $3 trillion in 2010 to approximately $14.3 trillion in 2025, with growth driven by investment strategies exhibiting distinct macro sensitivities. Private markets have expanded beyond their traditional asset class foundations into a broad ecosystem of investment strategies, each offering investors distinct risk and return drivers.

1. Represents Debt and Equity partnerships across Blue Owl GP Stakes I-VI, the Blue Owl Financing Fund and the Blue Owl GP Stakes Advantage Fund as of July 6, 2026.

KEY TAKEAWAY #2

Investors display preference for income-oriented strategies amid signs of a broader private markets fundraising recovery.

While total annual fundraising declined from pandemic-era highs, activity in the first half of 2026 suggests stabilization. Buyout, private credit, infrastructure, and secondaries have been among the strongest areas of inflows, suggesting investors are prioritizing cash flow generation and liquidity-oriented strategies over longer-duration growth exposure.

KEY TAKEAWAY #3

Investors increasingly emphasize scale, reputation, and demonstrated through-cycle performance when selecting managers.

Among the top 50 and top 100 private equity managers (ex-listed), firms with more than 25 years of operating history captured roughly three-quarters of fundraising over the 2021-2025 period.

KEY TAKEAWAY #4

Despite a challenging exit environment, buyout funds have generated meaningful investor liquidity.

While annual exit volume has recovered from 2023 lows, exit values remain depressed as a percentage of NAV. Assets purchased during 2020-2021 face realization challenges because of higher entry valuations and more difficult exit conditions. Realization rates have declined meaningfully for recent vintages.

Despite these headwinds, buyout cash flow dynamics have moved closer to equilibrium. While distributions remain below historical peaks, the asset class has generated average annual distributions equivalent to approximately 24% of NAV over the past decade and approximately $166 billion of cumulative net cash flow from 2016-2025. We believe this reflects GPs' increasing use of liquidity management tools to support distributions and portfolio management in a more constrained exit environment.

KEY TAKEAWAY #5

Exit markets are recovering via strategic acquisitions and secondary buyouts rather than IPO activity.

We have observed a resurgence in trade-sale activity, with strategic acquirers becoming the primary drivers of private equity exit activity in 2025 and 2026. Meanwhile, secondary buyouts continue to provide liquidity in constrained markets. We believe corporate balance sheet reactivation is a potential catalyst.

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Important information

Unless otherwise noted the Report Date referenced herein is as of March 31, 2026. 

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

The material presented is proprietary information regarding Blue Owl Capital Inc. (“Blue Owl”), its affiliates and investment program, funds sponsored by Blue Owl, including the Blue Owl Credit, Real Assets, and GP Strategic Capital Funds (collectively the “Blue Owl Funds”) as well as investment held by the Blue Owl Funds. 

The views expressed and, except as otherwise indicated, the information provided are as of the report date and are subject to change, update, revision, verification, and amendment, materially or otherwise, without notice, as market or other conditions change. Since these conditions can change frequently, there can be no assurance that the trends described herein will continue or that any forecasts are accurate. In addition, certain of the statements contained in this material may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on the current views and assumptions of Blue Owl and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties (including those discussed below) that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These statements may be forward-looking by reason of context or identified by words such as “may, will, should, expects, plans, intends, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential or continue” and other similar expressions. Neither Blue Owl, its affiliates, nor any of Blue Owl’s or its affiliates' respective advisers, members, directors, officers, partners, agents, representatives or employees or any other person (collectively the “Blue Owl Entities”) is under any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this document.

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