After a slow first quarter of the year, Preqin, a research firm, said that “the industry seemed to regain some momentum in Q2, with 315 funds closing worldwide, raising an aggregate $173 billion in investor commitments”. However, that momentum appears to have faded in the third quarter of this year, as 246 private capital funds raised a combined $122 billion.

Preqin said it expects these figures to rise by 10-15 per cent as more information becomes available; this figure would be comparable to the $131 billion raised by funds closed in Q1, and represents the lowest number of funds closed in more than four years.

Such figures suggest that while private equity fees and performance charges have managed to hold up relatively more robustly than is the case with hedge funds in recent years, activity and results may prove a burden. (To see an article looking at the contrasts between hedge funds and private equity in terms of fees, see here.)

Turning to the specific area of venture capital, Preqin said deal activity has also slackened to the slowest three-month period since the final three months of 2011. 

Globally, 2,050 venture capital deals were announced worth a combined $26 billion, the lowest number of deals and aggregate deal value seen so far in 2016.

The first and second quarters saw 2,607 and 2,335 deals with aggregate transaction values of $39 billion and $42 billion respectively, as fund managers sought to deploy the increasing levels of dry powder at their disposal.