Key Takeaways
- • Private equity fundraising is tracking for year-over-year growth in 2026, with managers closing $312 billion in capital commitments in the first half—the strongest first-half performance on record according to With Intelligence.
- • Deal completion timelines remain extended and holding periods continue elevated, but nascent deal activity is emerging in industrials and infrastructure-linked sectors, signaling a potential market inflection.
- • Samuel Dale, research lead for private equity markets at With Intelligence, characterizes 2026 as "an important transitional year for the industry" following years of stalled exits, fundraising strain, and geopolitical volatility.
- • The sector is recovering from a difficult period marked by extended holding periods and constrained capital deployment, though exits and deal velocity remain below historical norms.
Summary
Private equity fundraising is showing signs of sustained recovery in 2026, with capital deployment accelerating across select industry verticals. According to the Private Equity Trends Report 2026 from With Intelligence and S&P Global, managers have closed $312 billion in capital commitments during the first half of the year—representing the strongest opening six months on record. At this pace, the sector is positioned to achieve year-over-year fundraising growth, a significant reversal from the constrained capital environment that has characterized the market since 2023.
The recovery, however, remains uneven and faces structural headwinds. Deal completion timelines have lengthened materially, and holding periods remain elevated above historical averages, reflecting the challenging exit environment. Despite these constraints, pockets of meaningful deal activity are emerging in industrials and infrastructure-linked subsectors, suggesting that selective opportunities are driving renewed transaction flow.
Samuel Dale, research lead for private equity markets at With Intelligence, emphasized the cyclical nature of this inflection. "Private equity firms have experienced a tumultuous few years of stalled exits, strained fundraising and wild swings in both technological and geopolitical volatility," Dale noted. "However, we are starting to see some significant pockets of new deal activity emerging – particularly in industrials and infrastructure-linked sectors – as well as early signs that fundraising is starting to improve, which may make 2026 an important transitional year for the industry."
The emergence of concentrated deal activity in industrials and infrastructure reflects broader macroeconomic trends, including sustained investor appetite for assets with inflation-hedging characteristics and essential service revenues. While aggregate fundraising and deal velocity have not yet returned to pre-2022 levels, the directional improvement in capital commitments and selective sector acceleration suggest that the worst of the market contraction may have passed. Institutional investors and fund managers should continue monitoring exit velocity and holding period compression as key indicators of whether this transitional improvement sustains through the remainder of 2026.
The recovery, however, remains uneven and faces structural headwinds. Deal completion timelines have lengthened materially, and holding periods remain elevated above historical averages, reflecting the challenging exit environment. Despite these constraints, pockets of meaningful deal activity are emerging in industrials and infrastructure-linked subsectors, suggesting that selective opportunities are driving renewed transaction flow.
Samuel Dale, research lead for private equity markets at With Intelligence, emphasized the cyclical nature of this inflection. "Private equity firms have experienced a tumultuous few years of stalled exits, strained fundraising and wild swings in both technological and geopolitical volatility," Dale noted. "However, we are starting to see some significant pockets of new deal activity emerging – particularly in industrials and infrastructure-linked sectors – as well as early signs that fundraising is starting to improve, which may make 2026 an important transitional year for the industry."
The emergence of concentrated deal activity in industrials and infrastructure reflects broader macroeconomic trends, including sustained investor appetite for assets with inflation-hedging characteristics and essential service revenues. While aggregate fundraising and deal velocity have not yet returned to pre-2022 levels, the directional improvement in capital commitments and selective sector acceleration suggest that the worst of the market contraction may have passed. Institutional investors and fund managers should continue monitoring exit velocity and holding period compression as key indicators of whether this transitional improvement sustains through the remainder of 2026.
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