Key takeaways
1. The private-public divide has faded
Companies historically took a linear path to IPO. Today, they are raising capital across a continuous spectrum. As companies stay private longer and reach greater scale before listing, the historical boundary between private and public markets has become artificial.
2. Private markets have grown substantially
Global private market assets have grown nearly 20-fold since 2000, supported by deep institutional capital and a mature liquidity ecosystem. Late-stage private companies are increasingly operating like public companies.
3. Public market indices offer an increasingly concentrated opportunity set
The number of publicly traded companies has decreased substantially over the past two decades. During the same time period, a small number of outlier companies have compounded value in the public markets leading to more concentrated indices. Looking ahead, venture-backed companies are staying private for longer and going public at larger absolute market capitalizations. Much of the growth that used to occur in the public markets has been pulled into the private markets.
4. Decacorns are redefining where scale is built
Several hundred private companies now exceed $10 billion in valuation each. These businesses materially expand the investable opportunity set but sit largely outside traditional public market portfolios.
5. Hybrid strategies seek to capitalize on an evolving market
Hybrid strategies combine the alpha generation of private markets with the flexibility of public investing, allowing investors to compound insight, manage dislocations, and reduce handoff risk across private and public phases of growth.