As the world’s capital seeks resilience in a changing global economy, private markets hold the key to many pressing challenges and opportunities. In 2026, they have the potential to redefine the ways states and corporations build infrastructure, how businesses finance their growth, and how investors build diversified portfolios.

In the United States, the number of listed domestic companies has fallen from 8,000 in the mid-1990s to fewer than 4,500 today as a result of consolidation, de-listings and companies choosing to remain private for longer.

Challenges remain for private investors, though, particularly around liquidity. With IPO and M&A activity slowing in recent years, many high-quality companies are staying private longer and increasingly working within the private markets for financing, namely through private credit and secondary strategies. As these areas expand, private credit and private equity are becoming essential to capturing the full opportunity s