High-growth regions such as the Middle East and Asia are becoming key centres for private market investments, according to a report by Barclays Private Bank.
Entrepreneurial wealth and global capital flows are fuelling greater allocations to private market investments in these regions, with private investors allocating 33% of their portfolios to private markets.
Those investing in private markets see them as a valuable source of both long-term capital appreciation (91%) and diversification (89%), with 90% viewing it as important to their investment strategy, the Private Markets Annual Report found, based on a survey of over 550 wealthy private investors conducted by research agency Savanta.
Almost half (48%) of the respondents not currently investing in private markets said they would consider doing so in the future, while 79% of investors plan to increase their private market allocations.
The location of respondents intending to increase their allocation to private markets is as follows: 94% Africa, 82% Asia, 79% Middle East, 76% UK and 75% EU.
Experienced managers continue to draw the most capital commitments from LPs, attracting 89% of PE capital raised year to date, up from 87.9% in 2024.
However, 36 first-time PE funds managed to raise $7.2 bn in the same period, most of which were based in the US. There was some geographic diversification, with other first-time funds attracting capital in Japan, Saudi Arabia and Luxembourg.
“For GPs, the challenge is to meet evolving LP expectations with real innovation,” the report said.
“As competition intensifies and regulation increases, operational excellence becomes even more critical. GPs must balance transparency with a willingness to enter new markets, expanding their reach to wealthy individuals, family offices, and emerging wealth centres across regions such as the Middle East and Asia.
“Success means both building differentiated products and appealing to a diverse, evolving audience.”
