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 $18.6 billion, the third-lowest quarterly total in the past seven-plus years. In addition, the second quarter total was down 35 percent from the previous quarter’s fundraising volume of $28.4 billion.

The Q2/2021 total ranks as one of the lowest second quarter totals since data collection started in 2007, with only 2009 ($11.0 billion), 2011 ($11.5 billion), 2012 ($9.5 billion) and 2013 ($18.2 billion) recording lower figures.

The H1/2021 fundraising total of $47.0 billion was 29 percent lower than the H1/2020 total of $65.9 bil