Preqin (part of BlackRock) Private Markets in 2031 report focused on private equity, venture capital, private credit, and infrastructures. The item said that the global alternative investment industry may exceed 34,000 billion US dollars in assets under management (AUM) by the end of 2031, but growth will be slower than in the past. Private equity will reach nearly 12,000 billion, private credit will exceed $5,000 billion, venture capital will reach around 3,800 billion and infrastructure will approach 3,000 billion, with Europe set to marginally overtake North America in terms of aum of infrastructure funds. NYSE-listed giant BlackRock acquired Preqin in March 2025 for 3.2 billion US Dollars (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
The key drivers of growth in the private markets remain intact, but the industry is now operating in economic conditions that are very different from those which had fuelled its expansion over the previous decade. Preqin’s analysis says that the compound annual growth rate of assets under management across the alternative investment sector is set to fall to 8.5% over the period 2026–2031, compared with 11% over the period 2021–2026 and 9.2% over the period 2010–2021.
The outlook therefore remains positive, but the sector will have to contend with a higher cost of capital, greater selectivity on the part of investors, lower inflows and the need to accelerate divestments to return liquidity to investors.
As regards private equity, Preqin forecasts a gradual recovery following the downturn that began in 2022. Global assets under management are expected to almost double to around 12,000 billion dollars by 2031, with estimated average annual growth of around 9% over the period 2026–2031, compared with 13.1% in the previous five-year period.
This expansion is expected to be driven by improved fundraising and returns that are potentially higher than those recorded in the 2022–2025 period, partly due to the ability of newer funds to invest at lower entry valuations than those prevailing before the market correction.
The strategies that Preqin considers to be best positioned are secondaries and growth equity, for which relatively faster growth in assets under management is forecast.
However, a key obstacle remains: the recovery in fundraising will depend on a widespread improvement in exits, not merely on the completion of a few large transactions. The resumption of distributions to institutional investors is, in fact, necessary to free up resources for new commitments and to facilitate the rebalancing of portfolios.
According to Preqin, a more significant recovery in fundraising could emerge from 2030 onwards, when the increase in divestments and distributions is expected to translate into greater liquidity for investors.
From a geographical perspective, North America will retain a dominant position in private equity, continuing to be the main area for investment and growth in AUM.
Private credit is one of the asset classes with better growth perspectives. Firms of this field will manage assets worth above 5 trillion by the end of 2031 at a compound annual rate of 13.2% over 2026-2031.
However, a transformation in fundraising strategies and models will accompany this growth. Evergreen funds will be the segment set to expand most rapidly, outpacing the main categories of closed-end private credit funds, vehicles with no fixed maturity date. Their growth reflects the broadening of the investor base, particularly within private wealth, and the growing demand for instruments offering ongoing exposure to private credit.
At the same time, the sector is expanding its scope beyond traditional direct lending to businesses, moving into the financing of investment-grade companies and asset-based finance.
Preqin also notes that the fund statistics does not include a significant proportion of the capital allocated to these strategies supports investments through separate mandates of insurance companies.
The forecast of over 5 trillion may therefore not fully capture the economic scale of the expansion in private credit.
However, risks are increasing. Following a decade of strong expansion, Preqin believes the market may be entering a period of relative cooling, with greater focus on credit quality, lending criteria and the selection of fund managers. The exposure to software companies is one of the areas of concern (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
The narrowing of credit spreads and the prospect of interest rates remaining relatively high also heighten the need to maintain adequate safeguards against losses.
Venture capital could reach around 3.8 trillion in assets under management by 2031 grace to the spread of artificial intelligence. Preqin estimates an average annual growth rate of 9.2% over the period 2026–2031, following the sharp slowdown that came after the 2021 peak.
The main driver will be the adoption of AI by businesses and consumers, with a particular focus on applications built on top of AI models, rather than solely on the underlying technological infrastructure. The gradual reduction in the cost of these models, increased productivity and the growing integration of AI into economic processes will create new opportunities for investment and the establishment of technology firms. The transformation could be profound enough to alter the very structure of the venture capital market by 2031.
On the fundraising front, however, the recovery will be gradual. Preqin believes that fundraising could improve if distributions to investors resume growth during 2027 and if institutional investors gradually increase their allocations to the sector. However, a rapid return to the highs reached in 2021 and 2022 is not expected.
North America will retain its geographical leadership in venture capital as well, thanks to the concentration of technology companies, capital and expertise in the US market.
The global picture, however, appears to differ from that forecast by PitchBook for the European market alone. In June 2026, PitchBook estimated that European venture capital AUM would fall from 431.4 billion at the end of 2025 to 311.4 billion in 2030, whilst it forecast growth in European private equity from 1,500 to 1,700 billion (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
The two analyses are not comparable, as they cover different time frames and geographical areas, and employ different proprietary methodologies. They do, however, highlight that global growth in venture capital does not necessarily imply uniform expansion across all regions.
As regards infrastructure investment, Preqin forecasts that assets under management will approach 3 trillion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.8% over the period 2026–2031. Three major structural transformations will drive this growth: digitalisation and connectivity, the strengthening of supply chains, and energy security. The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence requires increasing investment in data centres, electricity grids, transmission systems, energy generation and digital infrastructure.
At the same time, the reorganisation of production chains and the need to make logistics chains more resilient are driving demand for new industrial and transport infrastructure. Energy supply security is a further driver of growth, with investment directed towards both generation and networks and storage systems.
The most significant geographical development concerns Europe, which, according to Preqin’s projections, is set to marginally overtake North America in terms of infrastructure fund AUM by 2031. This reflects the growing role of European investment in the energy transition, digital infrastructure and the modernisation of networks.
Growth, however, will not be uniform across countries and strategies. Preqin emphasises that managers’ ability to deploy raised capital effectively and to develop projects on an appropriate scale will be crucial in translating demand for infrastructure into returns for investors.
The new projections confirm the growth trajectory already outlined by Preqin in the previous edition of the report Private Markets in 2030, published in October 2025 (press release).
