Private markets headlines in Q2 2026 were dominated by records, but a wealth portfolio rarely looks like the aggregate market. Read on for five shifts in the underlying data and what they may mean for how a private markets allocation is positioned today.

  • Headline records may say less about manager performance than they appear to. A handful of outsized deals drove most of Q2 2026’s M&A and IPO records (the top 10 M&A deals alone made up over 30% of volume). Deal counts and median performance may offer a clearer read on what a given portfolio actually experienced than the aggregate total does.
  • The composition of buyout exposure appears to be shifting. Hard assets, utilities, energy, chemicals, now make up 47% of global LBO volume, more than triple the share from just a few years ago. The sector composition of underlying buyout allocations may warrant attention as this rotation continues.
  • Credit stress looks sector-specific rather than systemic. Software loan pricing has weakened, while the broader credit market has stayed open. In our view, this points to selectivity in manager and sector exposure as a key variable for credit allocations today, rather than a signal about credit broadly.
  • Liquidity pressure appears to be feeding secondary market activity. LP distributions have lagged capital calls for several quarters, and that imbalance has coincided with record secondary market volume. For evergreen or interval strategies, this liquidity mechanism may be increasingly relevant as exit multiples show signs of recovery.
  • Geographic performance diverged meaningfully this quarter. Europe outperformed the US by a wide margin in Q2 2026, a reversal from earlier in the year. This divergence may be a useful reminder that geographic diversification within private markets allocations deserves ongoing attention.

View the piece to see all five themes in full.

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