mcp Annual Investor Survey 2023
About the 2023 Survey
The private equity market has experienced a slowdown in both dealmaking and fundraising activity over the last year. Nevertheless, the results of mcp’s 11th Annual Investor Survey show that portfolios have remained broadly resilient and that the current context will fuel demand for stable strategies such as secondaries.
The report captures the views of private equity investors around the world – offering insights into their investment strategies and preferences during a challenging market environment.
Key Survey Findings
NEED FOR LIQUIDITY RISES
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Two-thirds of respondents received lower than expected distributions in 2023, with one-third indicating the impact was significant
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26% adopted a “wait and see” approach, while 44% expect lower distributions in their portfolio in 2024
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Need for liquidity among the keys reasons to consider secondary sales of private equity commitments
MID-MARKET BUYOUT & SECONDARIES FAVORED
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Proven and defensive strategies are key priorities in the current environment
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Mid-market buyout (75%) and secondaries (66%) remain the top two strategies as investors seek stability, performance, and early liquidity
SECONDARIES ALLOCATIONS TO INCREASE
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85% of respondents plan to maintain, increase, or for the first time introduce an allocation to secondaries
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Most favored transaction types are LP-leds in the small and mid-market segment (37%) and multi-asset GP-leds (24%)
PE FUNDRAISING TO REMAIN CHALLENGED
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Private equity performance has remained broadly resilient in 2023 with 78% of investors seeing positive or flat performance in their portfolio
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More investors expect a decrease in their overall private equity allocation in the next 12 months
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The current slowdown in distributions will lead almost half of respondents to reduce their deployment pace, and 25% to decrease their commitment sizes
*All information based on the mcp Annual Investor Survey released in November 2023.