Looking back at 2019, the year went from highs to lows. First quarter 2019 ended on the highest of highs, with records set due to the closing of multiple mega-funds. In fact, 2019 became known as another year of the mega-fund, a name in a series of years tracing back to its high-volume start in 2013. While the record first-quarter volume had market watchers anticipating a possible 12-month record total, fundraising fizzled during the ensuing months.

Due to investors tightening their purse strings, preliminary numbers from Institutional Real Estate, Inc.’s FundTracker database show the total fundraising volume for 2019 was $119.2 billion, approximately $15.7 billion short of the record-setting $134.9 billion raised in 2008.

Despite mega-funds driving the capital-raising volume at the beginning of the year, it looks like the mega-fund trend may be starting to dissipate. Preliminary numbers show only three mega-funds closed in fourth quarter 2019, continuing the slowdow