At this time last year, readers of this publication were marveling at the fundraising total recorded during the second quarter 2020; 37 funds registered final closings totaling $45.3 billion, the fourth-highest quarterly total ever recorded in this 15-year data series. Fast forward to second quarter 2021, and the fundraising picture was pretty much turned upside down. A total of 35 fund closings raised an aggregate of $13.8 billion, the fourth-lowest quarterly total in the data series.

A total of 38 new investment funds were launched during second quarter 2021, the lowest number of fund launchings since third quarter 2020 when 36 funds were launched.