During the first quarter 2021, 30 fund closings were recorded, representing an aggregate dollar volume of $26.5 billion. This is the highest amount of fund closings since second quarter 2020’s 37 fund closings and the highest fundraising volume since second quarter 2020’s fundraise of $48.3 billion. It seems investors were waiting to feel out fourth quarter 2020’s numbers to see how things fared, but it looks to be on the upswing, for now.

First quarter closings are always a bit rocky. For example, when you look back at first quarter 2020’s pre-pandemic fundraising volume, it seems a bit low at $20.1 billion. When you look at first quarter 2019’s record-breaking quarterly fundraise of $64.9 billion, it’s way above the mark. First quarter 2021 is more comparable to first quarter 2018’s fundraising volume of $31.3 billion, but glance at first quarter 2017’s fundraising volume of $18.8 billion and it looks similar to first quarter 2020. With inflation and unemplo