A new report from Mackenzie Investments and Northleaf Capital Partners, the Private Markets Outlook, says growth in private market investing is on the rise, but opportunities are still largely untapped – they note that 90 per cent of the companies in the United States remain privately owned – and the space is more accessible than ever. 

“The report forecasts a rise in private market investment opportunities across private equity, private credit and private infrastructure, resulting from the benefits companies perceive in remaining private for longer, and the growing investment requirements and need for private capital to support infrastructure projects critical to modernizing economies,” they write. They also discuss volatility in public markets, which has investors looking beyond traditional investment options and at the significant increase in demand for infrastructure assets. 

An evolving investment option 

“Private infrastructure is an evolving and appealing investment option that includes new opportunities in the sustainability and technological fields that did not previously exist and is expected to be one of the fastest-growing segments in private markets,” the firms add.

The report notes new fund structures that make the investments accessible to individual investors, at the market’s uncorrelated returns, buyout and venture deal activity, at private credit (expected to benefit from attractive yields) and at private infrastructure’s evolution.

“Infrastructure investment is ultimately expected to be one of the fastest-growing segments in private markets,” they state.