IPE survey: private equity managers expect stable fundraising, transaction volumes

Private equity fundraising levels and transaction volumes are expected to be stable in the next few years, compared with 2021, according to a survey of global private equity firms carried out by IPE this autumn. 

In a survey of 50 private equity managers – to which there were 25 respondents – representing over €2trn in assets under management (AUM), 46% of managers said they expected fundraising levels to be stable in the next two years compared with 2021, while only 8% said they would be lower.

A large majority of participants in the survey, which included Amundi Private Equity Funds, Coller Capital and Blackstone, were surprisingly optimistic about the future, despite current financial, political and geopolitical turbulance affecting almost the entire globe.

Given the current valuation levels, 64% of managers said they expected transaction volumes to be stable over the next two years compared with 2021, but 13% said transaction volumes would be lower.

IPE’s research revealed a level of optimism among private equity specialists regarding the returns they expect their portfolios to generate over the next five years, compared with the previous five years, with 38% saying they anticipated higher returns and 57% were confident they would achieve stable returns.

On the other hand, only 5% said returns would be lower.

ESG

With ESG becoming increasingly important across all investment asset classes, it was heartening to find that all but one of those surveyed said they considered ESG criteria in their investment decisions.

The sample of managers surveyed also reported a larger number of staff dedicated to analysis of ESG factors. The average number of dedicated ESG staff across the sample was 9.08, compared with 6.78 in 2021 and 7.86 in 2020.

Columbia Theadneedle Investments came out on top with a team of 45, closely followed by LGT Capital Partners with a 38-strong team of ESG-focused staff and Blackstone with 35.

The number of dedicated ESG staff reported this year was larger for managers in all AUM brackets. Managers with over €50bn AUM had 10.6 dedicated ESG staff on average (2021: 6.5), those with AUM of €10bn to €50bn had 8.9 ESG staff (2021: 9.1) and those with less than €10bn of AUM had 7.2 ESG staff (2021: 4.7).

The latest digital edition of IPE’s magazine is now available