Mutual Funds & Unicorns: Will Public and Private Equity Markets Finally Converge?
Mutual Funds & Unicorns: Will Public and Private Equity Markets Finally Converge?
Over the past decade, mutual fund investments in unicorns—startups valued at over $1 billion—have surged from $1.6 billion to $16.6 billion. Despite the rarity of owning shares in private companies, these investments represent just 0.3% of the total assets in active US equity strategies as of June 2024.
Post-COVID, and amid rising interest rates, investments in new private companies have decelerated. Dominant players like SpaceX and ByteDance are leading the unicorn investing landscape. However, mutual fund managers face challenges in pinpointing high-return opportunities within privately held firms. The focus on late-stage investments by unicorns often limits the potential for larger portfolio gains, which are crucial for attracting mutual fund managers.
Download our latest report to explore if private company equity ownership, in aggregate, has helped or hurt investors in mutual funds.
What's Inside
What's Inside
- Examination of the mutual fund ownership of pre-IPO private companies by fund family.
- Insights into the impact of late-stage investing and comparison of publicly-traded peers.
- Analysis of top invested privately held companies such as SpaceX and ByteDance invested in mutual funds