Welcome to PEI Private Equity’s ranking of the top private equity placement agents.
Placement agents appear to be earning their keep at a time when the broader private equity industry is struggling to raise capital.
Our proprietary ranking of the most active placement agents for the asset class includes 27 participating firms, who raised a total of $81.76 billion in new capital globally for private equity funds in the 12 months to end-December 2025 – double the 2023-24 total of $41 billion across 38 participating firms.
METHODOLOGY
- New capital closed (either in an interim or final close) for funds fundraising or which held final close between 1st January 2025 to 31st December 2025 for which the firm has attribution and for which a fee has been paid.
- “New capital” is defined as an LP investing into a fund series for the first time.
- Re-ups do not count towards a placement agent’s total new capital.
- LP capital does not need to have been called or deployed to count.
Download the full methodology here.
If you have any queries, please email our researchers here.
LATEST PLACEMENT AGENT ARTICLES
Defence funds flood Europe, though mid-market remains ‘largely untouched’
More than 100 defence and security strategies are raising capital – or preparing to do so – in the region, with mid-market specialists offering the best potential returns, according to the European Investment Fund and a new report from Rede Partners.
Lazard to reshuffle APAC advisory leadership following acquisition of Campbell Lutyens
Patrick No, who oversees Lazard’s secondary advisory and primary fundraising activities in the region, is understood to be leaving the bank.
Korean LPs embrace PE secondaries, mid-market amid credit controversy
Some institutions are expected to lean into equity-based strategies as they seek a new home for 2026 credit allocations.
Side Letter: Tech trepidation
LPs are less bullish on tech following the 'Saaspocalypse'; EQT is behind on its goal to deliver €20 billion of exits; CVC bolsters its APAC business.
Deep Dive: How AI is upending private equity’s software sweethearts
This year’s ‘SaaSpocalypse’ has exposed the vulnerability and deepening uncertainty of outcomes in a much-beloved sector. Investors must work quickly to identify managers capable of thriving in the age of AI.
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LATEST HEADLINES
GPs diverging from the CV norm must explain why
The Institutional Limited Partners Association’s guidance sought to address a different CV market compared with what it was three years ago. The trade body’s challenge was making a broad set of parties happy.
TPG targets Q4 close for latest flagship and healthcare fund
The firm updated its full-year fundraising guidance for the year from $50bn to $55bn after moving forward several fund closes initially budgeted for 2027.
Blue Owl’s latest GP stakes fund close may slip to Q1 2027
GP Stakes VI has gathered about $11bn to date, including co-investment, CFO Alan Kirshenbaum said on the firm's Q3 earnings call Thursday.
The largest funds take a growing share of total PE fundraising
Mega-funds that held final closes in Q1-Q3 2026 gathered $169.5bn between them, taking 24% of all capital raised, PEI Group data shows.
Side Letter: Mid-alignment
Hazards to avoid when managers come down market; and CVC maintains its realizations streak.