The global value of private assets held in funds rose 15.4% in 2025 to a record $14.9 trillion, driven largely by gains in private equity, according to Ocorian’s latest Global Asset Monitor.
The asset servicing firm said private market assets have increased 87% since 2020 and 330% since 2015, and it forecasts the total will climb another 60% to $23.9 trillion by 2030.
Private equity accounted for much of last year’s expansion, with global fund assets in the sector rising 17.8% in 2025 to a record $10.6 trillion at the start of 2026, the fastest annual growth since 2021, the report said. Ocorian projects private equity assets will increase by about two-thirds to $17.4 trillion by the end of the decade.
Across all asset classes tracked in the study, including listed equities and bonds, total global assets increased by $38.6 trillion year over year to $282.9 trillion in 2025, a 15.8% rise and the largest annual increase recorded, according to the firm.
Regionally, North America remained dominant in private equity, with $5.4 trillion in assets at the end of 2025, representing just over half of global assets under management, Ocorian’s modelling showed. Asian markets posted some of the strongest growth, reaching $2.4 trillion, up 28% year over year. Funds based in Asia managed more than $3.2 trillion overall, compared with $1.6 trillion in Europe and $55 billion in the Middle East.
Ben Hill, global co-head of fund services at Ocorian, said the growth reflects a shift toward private markets as public markets face constraints. “Private markets are growing while public markets remain constrained by rates, concentration risk and fewer viable exits,” Hill said.
In the Middle East, private markets assets under management reached $73 billion at the end of 2025, up from $64 billion a year earlier. In a January 2026 survey of 100 regional fund managers and investment professionals, nearly all respondents said they expect growth across private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate over the next five years.
Ocorian said conventional energy and midstream assets are expected to attract the largest share of institutional private capital in the Middle East, followed by financial services and fintech.
The firm’s projections are based on data from Preqin and FactSet, supplemented by modelling to estimate up-to-date private market valuations.
