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December 16, 2024
We asked our team to share their thoughts on the year to date, and what they think lies ahead for 2025 and this is what they said:
Private markets surge to $13.1 trillion: the growth story
Michael Aldridge, President and CRO commented: “2024 has been a landmark year for private markets, with assets under management reaching $13.1 trillion across private equity, venture capital, and other alternative investments collectively – almost triple what they were just a decade ago. This growth reflects the continued shift of institutional investors toward private markets as they seek higher risk-adjusted returns and more diverse investment portfolios. However, as private markets expand their influence on the global financial ecosystem, they also face mounting pressure to address fundamental challenges surrounding data transparency and efficiency.
“Unlike public markets, private markets operate without the benefit of standardized reporting frameworks, resulting in fragmented and inconsistent data. This opacity creates challenges for investors, including risks of misallocation of funds, difficulties in benchmarking performance, and increased exposure to mismanagement or fraud. With the market growing at a rapid rate, ensuring access to reliable, standardized data is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
“Looking ahead, ensuring the growth of private markets results in desired investment outcomes hinges on addressing the transparency challenge—a task where technology holds the key. Asset managers and service providers must harness innovative solutions to overcome this barrier and unlock the full potential of private markets.”
Private market secondaries: a record year
Simon Tang, Head of North America:
“Private market secondaries have had a stellar year and are on course to surpass last year’s record-breaking volumes, having trended higher than last year throughout 2024. This reflects a significant shift in investor strategy towards a more risk-return balanced private markets portfolio with an eye on more near-term liquidity.
“While macro factors such as a slowdown in IPOs and exit activity have influenced this trend, the broad availability of secondary opportunities such as GP-led and LP-led deals, and the increasing coverage provided by brokers and marketplaces have also made secondary investments more accessible and attractive.
“Looking ahead, there are key challenges facing the industry. In secondaries, data granularity and time-to-data are the lifeblood of robust underwriting and informed decision-making. However, as both deal flow volume and potential buyers entering the space increase, the sheer amount of data trapped in unstructured documents and tight bid deadlines are formidable obstacles for investors.
“To fully capitalize on the potential of this rapidly growing market, manual processes in secondary buying must give way to data automation. Streamlining data workflows to drive optimum premium/discount offers will ultimately differentiate the successful secondary investors in 2025 and beyond.”
Artificial intelligence: reshaping private markets
Phillip Mortimer, CTO:
“Since ChatGPT's launch in 2022, AI interest has skyrocketed and financial institutions are increasingly exploring and implementing this technology. These firms are recognizing AI's transformative potential to enhance efficiency, generate valuable insights, and maintain a competitive edge. In private markets, for instance, AI adoption is accelerating manual processes through intelligent document acquisition and data extraction, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and improving portfolio transparency.
“The UK has taken a proactive stance on AI. Its new AI safety platform for businesses is likely to be welcomed by firms that are keen to harness the technology but want to move forward cautiously. This initiative builds on the UK’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as a global AI safety leader, demonstrated by developments including hosting the world’s first AI Safety Summit last year and the recent launch of the FCA's new AI Lab.
“The rapid evolution of AI makes predictions difficult, but one thing is clear: the future will be increasingly shaped by generative AI models that exhibit broad intelligence and can adapt to a wide range of tasks. As the field continues to grow, so will the potential of this technology, shaping the world in ways beyond imagination.”
ESG: transparency as the key to unlocking sustainable investments
James Hackworth, Head of Product Management:
“Institutions recognize the enormous potential of sustainable investments, with 35% identifying them as the prime opportunity in private markets for 2024. This is being driven by multiple factors: investor demand, a regulatory push, and retail investor adoption.
“However, ESG transparency remains a critical barrier to unlocking the full potential of sustainable assets. Private markets lag behind public companies in ESG reporting due to unreliable data, inconsistent standards, and persistent concerns over greenwashing. The lack of actionable information limits institutions’ ability to assess the carbon footprint and broader ESG performance of their portfolios, stalling progress in sustainable investing.
“To accelerate change in 2025, the private markets industry must adopt a proactive, multi-faceted approach to enhance ESG transparency. This includes developing robust ESG data frameworks, fostering deeper engagement with portfolio companies, and harnessing advanced technology and analytics. By equipping investors with comprehensive and reliable ESG insights, investment managers can drive greater confidence, catalyze sustainable investment flows, and solidify their role in advancing global sustainability goals.”
Fintech: resilience amid a shifting funding landscape
Franck Vialaron, CEO:
“The fintech funding environment in 2024 faced a cautious but progressive landscape. While overall funding levels remained below their 2021-2022 highs, investments surged in AI-driven solutions tailored to specific verticals. At the same time investors are focused on startups demonstrating clear paths to profitability, favoring B2B models and scalable technologies over high-burn consumer-facing ventures.
“Despite the tighter environment, fintechs solving a genuine need and addressing pressing challenges such as operational efficiency and greater access to data and insights attracted significant interest, highlighting a maturing sector resilient to economic pressures.”
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond
As we step into 2025, private markets are poised for continued growth, but challenges remain. From addressing transparency gaps to harnessing emerging technologies like AI, industry players must adopt proactive strategies to navigate an increasingly complex climate.
Innovation and adaptability will be essential to unlocking the full potential of private markets, ensuring they remain a key part of the global financial ecosystem.
We asked our team to share their thoughts on the year to date, and what they think lies ahead for 2025 and this is what they said:
Private markets surge to $13.1 trillion: the growth story
Michael Aldridge, President and CRO commented: “2024 has been a landmark year for private markets, with assets under management reaching $13.1 trillion across private equity, venture capital, and other alternative investments collectively – almost triple what they were just a decade ago. This growth reflects the continued shift of institutional investors toward private markets as they seek higher risk-adjusted returns and more diverse investment portfolios. However, as private markets expand their influence on the global financial ecosystem, they also face mounting pressure to address fundamental challenges surrounding data transparency and efficiency.
“Unlike public markets, private markets operate without the benefit of standardized reporting frameworks, resulting in fragmented and inconsistent data. This opacity creates challenges for investors, including risks of misallocation of funds, difficulties in benchmarking performance, and increased exposure to mismanagement or fraud. With the market growing at a rapid rate, ensuring access to reliable, standardized data is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
“Looking ahead, ensuring the growth of private markets results in desired investment outcomes hinges on addressing the transparency challenge—a task where technology holds the key. Asset managers and service providers must harness innovative solutions to overcome this barrier and unlock the full potential of private markets.”
Private market secondaries: a record year
Simon Tang, Head of North America:
“Private market secondaries have had a stellar year and are on course to surpass last year’s record-breaking volumes, having trended higher than last year throughout 2024. This reflects a significant shift in investor strategy towards a more risk-return balanced private markets portfolio with an eye on more near-term liquidity.
“While macro factors such as a slowdown in IPOs and exit activity have influenced this trend, the broad availability of secondary opportunities such as GP-led and LP-led deals, and the increasing coverage provided by brokers and marketplaces have also made secondary investments more accessible and attractive.
“Looking ahead, there are key challenges facing the industry. In secondaries, data granularity and time-to-data are the lifeblood of robust underwriting and informed decision-making. However, as both deal flow volume and potential buyers entering the space increase, the sheer amount of data trapped in unstructured documents and tight bid deadlines are formidable obstacles for investors.
“To fully capitalize on the potential of this rapidly growing market, manual processes in secondary buying must give way to data automation. Streamlining data workflows to drive optimum premium/discount offers will ultimately differentiate the successful secondary investors in 2025 and beyond.”
Artificial intelligence: reshaping private markets
Phillip Mortimer, CTO:
“Since ChatGPT's launch in 2022, AI interest has skyrocketed and financial institutions are increasingly exploring and implementing this technology. These firms are recognizing AI's transformative potential to enhance efficiency, generate valuable insights, and maintain a competitive edge. In private markets, for instance, AI adoption is accelerating manual processes through intelligent document acquisition and data extraction, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and improving portfolio transparency.
“The UK has taken a proactive stance on AI. Its new AI safety platform for businesses is likely to be welcomed by firms that are keen to harness the technology but want to move forward cautiously. This initiative builds on the UK’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as a global AI safety leader, demonstrated by developments including hosting the world’s first AI Safety Summit last year and the recent launch of the FCA's new AI Lab.
“The rapid evolution of AI makes predictions difficult, but one thing is clear: the future will be increasingly shaped by generative AI models that exhibit broad intelligence and can adapt to a wide range of tasks. As the field continues to grow, so will the potential of this technology, shaping the world in ways beyond imagination.”
ESG: transparency as the key to unlocking sustainable investments
James Hackworth, Head of Product Management:
“Institutions recognize the enormous potential of sustainable investments, with 35% identifying them as the prime opportunity in private markets for 2024. This is being driven by multiple factors: investor demand, a regulatory push, and retail investor adoption.
“However, ESG transparency remains a critical barrier to unlocking the full potential of sustainable assets. Private markets lag behind public companies in ESG reporting due to unreliable data, inconsistent standards, and persistent concerns over greenwashing. The lack of actionable information limits institutions’ ability to assess the carbon footprint and broader ESG performance of their portfolios, stalling progress in sustainable investing.
“To accelerate change in 2025, the private markets industry must adopt a proactive, multi-faceted approach to enhance ESG transparency. This includes developing robust ESG data frameworks, fostering deeper engagement with portfolio companies, and harnessing advanced technology and analytics. By equipping investors with comprehensive and reliable ESG insights, investment managers can drive greater confidence, catalyze sustainable investment flows, and solidify their role in advancing global sustainability goals.”
Fintech: resilience amid a shifting funding landscape
Franck Vialaron, CEO:
“The fintech funding environment in 2024 faced a cautious but progressive landscape. While overall funding levels remained below their 2021-2022 highs, investments surged in AI-driven solutions tailored to specific verticals. At the same time investors are focused on startups demonstrating clear paths to profitability, favoring B2B models and scalable technologies over high-burn consumer-facing ventures.
“Despite the tighter environment, fintechs solving a genuine need and addressing pressing challenges such as operational efficiency and greater access to data and insights attracted significant interest, highlighting a maturing sector resilient to economic pressures.”
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond
As we step into 2025, private markets are poised for continued growth, but challenges remain. From addressing transparency gaps to harnessing emerging technologies like AI, industry players must adopt proactive strategies to navigate an increasingly complex climate.
Innovation and adaptability will be essential to unlocking the full potential of private markets, ensuring they remain a key part of the global financial ecosystem.
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About Accelex
Accelex provides data acquisition, analytics and reporting solutions for investors and asset servicers enabling firms to access the full potential of their investment performance and transaction data. Powered by proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, Accelex automates processes for the extraction, analysis and sharing of difficult-to-access unstructured data. Founded by senior alternative investment executives, former BCG partners and successful fintech entrepreneurs, Accelex is headquartered in London with offices in Paris, Luxembourg, New York and Toronto. For more information, please visit accelextech.com
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