LONDON, 31 March, 2026 – Preqin, a part of BlackRock, has released the 2026 edition of its annual Private Markets in North America report examining the landscape and outlook for private markets across the region. The research covers fundraising, assets under management (AUM), performance, and risk trends in all private markets asset classes.

The report explores how North American private markets entered 2026 with renewed momentum marked by rebounding fundraising and AUM, private credit and secondaries expanding to meet liquidity needs, hedge funds increasing leverage, VC exits reopening, and real estate recovery led by debt strategies. This activity underscores the region’s continued position as the prime destination for global private markets investors within the context of a global economy facing some headwinds from technological and geopolitical shifts.

Key Takeaways Across Private Markets

• Fundraising & AUM: Scale Rebuilds

  Fundraising for North America‑focused funds rose from $762bn in 2024 to $861bn in 2025, while regional private capital AUM increased from $8.23tn at end‑2024 to $8.46tn by mid‑2025, reinforcing North America’s position as the core of global private markets.

• Private Credit: Semiliquid Funds Have Been Scaling

  Semiliquid private credit funds have been scaling rapidly*, underscoring their importance within the US private credit market in spite of more recent challenges.

• Private Equity: Secondaries Accelerate

  Private equity secondaries are playing an increasingly prominent role relative to primaries supported by persistent demand for liquidity by LPs as a weaker exit environment curbs DPI from existing vehicles.

• Hedge Funds: Leverage Concentrated in North America

  North America dominates the hedge fund landscape, accounting for 79% of global hedge fund AUM, with rising leverage, particularly in relative value and macro strategies, supporting returns but increasing risk sensitivity.

• Venture Capital: Exits Reopen, Liquidity Improves

  VC exit value rebounded sharply in 2025 to levels last seen in 2021, driven by large trade sales and AI-related exits, marking a meaningful improvement in liquidity conditions.

• Real Estate: Debt Leads the Recovery
  North American real estate fundraising strengthened in 2025, driven primarily by real estate debt strategies, while equity activity remained more muted amid mixed sector fundamentals.

• Private Wealth: Strong US Bias Toward Domestic Markets

  Private wealth investors show a pronounced home‑market preference, with 77% of investor searches by North America‑based investors on Preqin Pro focused on US‑based private market strategies, notably growth, buyout, private credit, and infrastructure.

Cameron Joyce, Director, Head of Research Insights at Preqin said, “North America remains the most developed private markets region globally, but its growth drivers are evolving. The private credit market has been scaling as a core source of capital, the secondaries market continues to evolve to provide liquidity solutions amid a more challenging backdrop for exits, and AI‑related exits are starting to unlock deal flow in parts of the venture market. Together these shifts highlight how investors are adapting portfolio construction and risk management in a more constrained liquidity environment.”

Methodology

Preqin’s Private Markets in North America report series was previously titled ‘Alternatives in North America’.

Through its data and insights, Preqin is increasing transparency across private markets, helping investors better understand risk, performance, and opportunity so they can invest with greater confidence. The Preqin Pro platform tracks over 200,000 funds across private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, and natural resources.

* The Preqin BDC data used for this analysis covers to end-June 2025 and represents the most up-to-date data available at the time of writing. Preqin’s coverage of the fair value of BDC holdings has since increased to end-September 2025