Global Fund Polarization

 Global Fund Polarization

 1. Extreme Asset Concentration

Overwhelming Dominance of Top Firms:

- BlackRock holds $11.6 trillion in AUM as of 2024, making it the world’s largest asset manager 

- Blackstone has $1 trillion in AUM, making it the largest private equity fund 

- The top 10 firms alone account for over 26.5% of total capital raised, up from 22.9% in 2016 and 23.8% in 2017, showing continuous increase 

Total Market Size:

- As of 2023, private equity firms controlled $8.2 trillion in assets globally 

- Global private equity AUM is projected to reach approximately $6 trillion by the end of 2024, and is forecast to reach $11.97 trillion by 2029 

 2. Fundraising Concentration

According to the 2025 PEI 300 ranking, 300 investment firms collectively raised a total of $3.29 trillion over the past five years, marking a new record 

Blackstone raised $93.2 billion over five years to retain the top spot, with KKR trailing $13 billion behind in second place 

 3. Geographic Concentration

Among the top 50 funds, North American PE firms made up $1.34 trillion (72%) of the total, while Europe accounts for only $179 billion (9.7%) 

US-based firms account for 36 of the top 50 firms globally 

 4. Capital Flow Polarization

In 2024, global equity and bond funds saw net inflows of $125.5 billion and $143.2 billion respectively, with $220.4 billion concentrated in developed markets 

The concentration of funds into US markets continues, with approximately half of global equity fund inflows and about 70% of bond fund inflows focused on the United States 

 5. Accelerating Polarization

Throughout PEI 300 history, total capital raised has increased by 11% annually on average, but in 2025 it only increased by 0.37%, showing growth stagnation 

Growth is concentrating among large institutions, with “an outsized share of this growth expected to accrue to larger, scaled and established players” 

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Conclusion: The global fund market exhibits clear polarization characterized by extreme asset concentration among a few top funds, geographic concentration (especially US-centric), and deepening dominance of large institutions. This demonstrates that the “emergence of single funds exceeding 1 quadrillion won” is no longer imagination but an ongoing trend.