A new report shows that 2019 broke the record for private equity fundraising

A new Pitchbook report says that private equity firms have raised record capital for a year. By November 6, PE funds topped $246 billion in 2019, according to the report. There are still eight weeks left in the year.

The record comes shortly after Brookfield announced the close of a $9 billion fund this week. That fifth flagship fund operating in New York helped break the record.

Pitchbook Report: Topping the 2017 Record

With several weeks to go, the industry has surpassed the 2017 record of $238 billion. Pitchbook questioned whether managers are racing to raise capital ahead of a potential recession. However, PitchBook analyst Wylie Fernyhough suggests that current market conditions have not peaked just yet.

“A lot of people have been talking about how current conditions mirror the prior peak since at least 2014 and every year things keep on rolling,” he said. “I think PE firms are trying to amass capital because they can, not necessarily because they predict some sort of huge crash in prices like we saw during the global financial crisis. General partners want to make money—for their limited partners and themselves—and they’ll raise as much as they can up to the point that they can still deliver on performance.”

Pitchbook completed its Third-Quarter PE Breakdown in early October. You can obtain a copy of the report – co-sponsored by Twin Brook Capital – right here.

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