2026 Market Overview: Performance

Have we reached the end of an era? Has private equity outperformance come to an end? Not so fast, let’s add some context. Our annual report offers a unique perspective on returns in the private markets, leveraging our firm’s industry expertise, research capabilities and expansive database to help investors navigate the evolving investment landscape.  

Read the Narrative
Don’t overthink this. Private equity has been, and likely will continue to be, an incredibly attractive investment space. It is not just luck, or a moment in time, or whatever explanation skeptics provide for its performance. It’s a skill set, a superior governance model.
Mario Giannini
Executive Co-Chairman, Hamilton Lane

Longer-term Performance

We normally talk about returns in the private markets over a 10-year time frame. The theory is that we are all long-term investors, particularly in the private sphere. It’s a fiction; we all understand that now. We spend more time discussing quarterly and annual returns than we ever do discussing 10-year returns, but let’s at least look at the numbers over longer periods.

History says...

Private equity has stumbled in the short term, but history is clear:  Past periods of underperformance, like 2012 and 2019, were followed by strong multi-year rebounds, setting the stage for what could be the next upswing. 

Persistence in Performance

One question we are often asked is, “What is the persistence of performance in private markets?” Over the last 20 years, top-quartile persistence has been greatest in venture capital, growth, and real assets and least in buyout and credit.


Market Overview

Our annual report unpacks the conflicting market signals, AI obsession, private market realities and structural shifts reshaping portfolios in 2026. 


About Hamilton Lane

Our purpose is simple: To provide enhanced financial well-being for those who depend on us. We do that by seeking to deliver tailored, solutions-oriented private markets exposure and industry-leading client service. We’re an organization built on over three decades of client-centricity, candor and authenticity and powered by intellectual rigor and data-driven insight. 

Our commitment to serving those who depend on us has remained steadfast, while our focus on growth and transformation has only strengthened. Today, we serve institutional and private wealth investors around the world, helping them tap into the opportunities afforded by this maturing asset class.

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