2025 was a year of recovery for the private equity industry. After several years of muted activity, Q3 2025 saw a three-year record high in deal value as firms leaned into a window of opportunity in M&A markets.
Though fundraising conditions remain constrained throughout the industry, factors such as narrowing valuation gaps, record levels of dry powder, cooling inflation, and expectations for 2026 rate cuts have increased optimism and brought momentum to the private equity space. Research from AlphaSense positions the transition into 2026 as moving from a “recovery phase into a potential supercycle.”
Below, we examine the top private equity fund managers that have led the way in fundraising, attracting capital by leaning into differentiated strategies, operational expertise, and alternative financing models. Using insights sourced from the AlphaSense platform, we dive into each of these firms’ successes, as well as share analyst and expert perspectives on their competitive positioning and outlook for 2026.
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management primarily focuses on infrastructure, renewable energy, real estate, and private equity investments. According to broker research in the AlphaSense platform, Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $30 billion in Q3 2025 and finished 2025 with total AUM of over $1 trillion.
The firm is well positioned for another year of double-digit earnings expansion in 2026. The magnitude of upside will hinge on the pacing of flagship fundraising, the ramp-up of its inaugural AI infrastructure strategy, and broader capital-market conditions. Despite divergent views on valuation, the consensus direction for operating metrics in 2026 is positive.
Blackstone
Company disclosures confirm that Blackstone surpassed the $1 trillion AUM milestone during 2025, retaining its leadership among dedicated alternative-asset managers.
Sell-side and expert commentary found in the AlphaSense platform indicate that Blackstone is capitalizing on multi-channel fundraising strength and thematic investment areas such as data centers and private credit, while managing near-term margin pressure. In 2025, Blackstone made a high-profile bet on AI when it invested $300 million in AI platform DDM. This move, coupled with the firm’s status as the world’s largest owner of data center assets, underscores Blackstone’s influence in shaping emerging trends and its commitment to long-term value creation for investors.
Many analysts see the inflection in realizations and management-fee growth materializing more fully in 2026, supported by a robust product-launch pipeline and expanding private-wealth footprint.
Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management has leveraged its expertise in credit and yield-oriented investments to become one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, with just under $1 trillion in AUM as of September 2025. Largely focused on expanding credit offerings and insurance assets, Apollo has sustained its strong performance and influence in a shifting market environment. Apollo is known for large-scale deals and for opportunistic investments across distressed assets, corporate carve-outs, and infrastructure.
Broker research published after management’s third-quarter call indicate expectations for over 20% growth in fee-related earnings and 10% growth in spread-related earnings in 2026, though this will depend heavily on liability behavior and macro conditions.
KKR & Co
According to broker research in the AlphaSense platform, KKR’s total AUM reached over $700 billion in 2025. The fund raised $43 billion of fresh capital in Q3 2025, its strongest quarter for inflows in four years.
Initially known as a leveraged buyout pioneer, KKR has evolved into a diversified global investor focused on operational improvements and long-term growth across sectors like healthcare, infrastructure, and technology. KKR’s fundraising prowess and strategic pivoting in 2025 have solidified its position as an industry leader setting new benchmarks for the private equity market.
Research findings within the AlphaSense platform converge on a constructive view for 2026 with KKR expected to deliver high-single-digit ANI growth and record FRE, contingent upon the firm translating its large pool of unrealized gains into exits. While analysts diverge on the exact earnings dollar, the prevailing opinion is that KKR possesses the fundraising momentum, fee scale, and monetization pipeline to approach or achieve management’s stated 2026 targets.
The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group’s most recently reported AUM, as of September 2025, is just under $500 billion. The firm has a strong global presence and has historically been a major investor in defense, aerospace, government services, healthcare, and consumer sectors.
In 2022, The Carlyle Group’s private debt division’s assets surpassed its traditional private equity assets for the first time in 35 years, highlighting the firm’s adaptability in shifting toward credit markets. In the most recent earnings report, the CEO stated that the firm was well-positioned to exceed its 2025 financial targets, thanks to strong inflows and momentum of certain strategic growth engines.
Overall, both recent company documents and broker research position The Carlyle Group for continued earnings expansion and stronger cash generation in 2026, built on the firm’s broadened fundraising capabilities and deepening capital-deployment pipeline.
TPG
TPG’s most recently reported AUM, as of September 2025, is just under $300 billion. This is a 14% expansion YoY, which is largely driven by capital raising and the acquisition of Peppertree. Management highlighted a record $18 billion of capital raised in Q3 alone, underscoring strong investor demand across private equity and credit strategies.
The firm’s sustained fundraising velocity across private equity, credit, and real estate franchises aligns with most brokers’ forecasts for double-digit DE growth, rising FRE margins, and continued AUM expansion into 2026. Variability among forecasts is driven primarily by differing assumptions on fee-paying AUM growth rates, catch-up fees, and the timing of performance fee crystallization.
Bain Capital
In Q4 2025, Bain Capital announced the close of its 14th flagship buyout fund at $14 billion, driving total firm AUM to just under $200 billion. The firm also secured $1.6 billion for an open-air, grocery-anchored retail real estate platform in December 2025, illustrating continued investor appetite for necessity-based assets with resilient cash flows.
Bain Capital’s partners indicate a measured deployment pace of roughly 3.5-4 years per flagship fund, positioning the firm to invest opportunistically as deal flow accelerates in 2026.
For 2026, broker research in the AlphaSense platform anticipates that funding-cost step-ups and lower base rates will pressure earnings further, but credit quality should remain solid and see income from joint ventures as a partial offset. Bain Capital’s sizable fresh capital pools and sector-focused investment strategy position the firm to capitalize on improving market conditions and an anticipated revival in exit opportunities.
Thoma Bravo
Thoma Bravo is the world’s largest technology-focused private equity firm, with reported AUM just under $200 billion. According to broker research, Thoma Bravo’s tech and software-focused M&A pipeline position it well for multiple multi-billion-dollar purchases as the AI revolution continues to keep software valuations attractive for well-capitalized buyers.
Thoma Bravo’s Boeing digital aviation carve-out is one of the year’s largest A&D transactions, illustrating the firm’s ability to diversify around mission-critical software assets. Brokers anticipate further aerospace & defence IT carve-outs following the Boeing acquisition, with Thoma Bravo set to remain an active consolidator in the vertical.
The consensus among analysts is that Thoma Bravo’s record fundraise, scalable credit platform, and disciplined AI-first operating model should sustain an elevated deal tempo into 2026. With ample capital, proven integration capabilities, and prospective IPO optionality, the firm is positioned to remain one of the most influential buyers — and sellers — within global software M&A in the next 18 months.
CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners’ five-year fundraising tallied at $72.5 billion, pushing firm AUM just north of $160 billion.
The firm invests primarily in buyouts and growth deals, with core sector expertise in consumer and retail, healthcare, financial services, and TMT. In 2025, CVC maintained a cautious yet opportunistic stance — navigating Europe’s higher-rate environment while pursuing strategic investments (for example, in healthcare companies and sports franchises). In its September 2025 press release, management highlighted strong client demand in Europe and private wealth channels, positioning the firm for further product launches in 2026.
Brokers in the AlphaSense platform broadly acknowledge CVC Capital Partners’ strong 2025 fundraising, resilient FRE and attractive valuation, but they converge on a cautious stance toward short-term PRE visibility. In an AlphaSense expert call, a former CVC executive stated that despite its strong brand, CVC continues to face competitive challenges in sourcing proprietary deals, particularly in the UK market.
EQT
Sweden’s EQT has risen to become the leading private equity firm in Europe and a major player globally, with AUM around $120 billion. Multiple brokers in the AlphaSense platform showcase continued cost compression and strong EBITDA conversion versus peers, positioning EQT favorably across price cycles.
EQT specializes in sustainability, digitalization, and sector themes like healthcare, technology, and infrastructure. Geographically, EQT has expanded across Europe, North America, and Asia – notably by acquiring Baring Private Equity Asia in 2022, which gave it a strong foothold in Asian markets. The firm’s deal activity reflects its focus on growth opportunities: recent investments include numerous technology and software companies (including in Japan’s tech sector) as well as sustainability-driven infrastructure projects.
EQT enters 2026 positioned as a low-cost Appalachian gas leader with meaningful upside to an improving demand backdrop, yet execution will hinge on maintaining capital discipline and navigating infrastructure and commodity-price volatility. Brokers anticipate flat production at maintenance capital, strong operating leverage to a tighter U.S. gas market, and continued deleveraging, while highlighting price volatility and Appalachian infrastructure risk as key watch-points.
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