Top analysts at Bank of America Research are pulling back the curtain on the colossal $22 trillion universe of private capital, an asset class so massive it would be “the world’s second-largest economy” if it were treated as a country. As the global financial landscape faces tectonic shifts, Bank of America Research’s latest thematic investing report reveals that private capital is reshaping how companies, investors, and economies think about growth, risk, and control, challenging the primacy of public markets and opening new frontiers for both innovation and caution.
Private capital, defined by the bank as assets not available on public markets, includes private equity, private credit and real assets. It has multiplied at a staggering pace, more than doubling since 2012 to $22 trillion by 2024. This explosion has been driven by a retreat from public markets. Since 2000, the number of U.S.-listed companies has halved to just over 4,000, even as the number of private venture-backed firms soared 25-fold. Startups now remain private for an average of 16 years, a third longer than a decade ago, reflecting a broad shift toward private capital and away from public scrutiny and regulation.
