The Changing Investment Landscape

Public markets (i.e. stock markets), which for decades offered broad exposure to economic growth and new companies, have fundamentally changed. The total number of publicly traded U.S. companies has dropped from over 8,000 in the late 1990s to roughly 4,300 today, severely shrinking investors’ choices and reducing access to the full spectrum of business opportunities.

Why Are Public Markets Shrinking?

More companies are choosing to stay private longer, raising capital in an ever-expanding private marketplace.

Mergers, acquisitions, and delisting’s are removing companies from exchange listings faster than new IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) replace them.

Public markets have become dominated by a smaller group of large, mature firms, with fewer innovative, high-growth businesses available for investment.

What’s Happening in Private Markets?

Private markets—spanning private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure—are experiencing explosive growth. Assets under management globally are projected to reach $65 trillion by 2032, having expanded at double-digit rates for years.

Private equity deal values in the U.S. surged 38% in the first half of 2025 despite economic headwinds.

Across Europe and the U.S., public-to-private transactions soared, reflecting an active migration of value from public exchanges to private hands.

Private investments now offer opportunities to participate in earlier-stage, faster-growing businesses, previously accessed only through public markets.

What Does It Mean for Investors?

Investors relying only on public equities could be missing out on a large and growing part of the economy.

Private market investments can provide broader diversification, access to emerging businesses, and different risk profiles than typical stock-and-bond portfolios.

Portfolio construction increasingly requires blending public and private market allocations to tap into a wider set of opportunities and manage changing market volatility.