The private equity industry has reached new heights in size, with many renowned investors making their debut this year.

Amid strict regulation and a stable market environment, the size of private equity funds has reached a record high.

On the evening of September 23, the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) released its monthly statistics report on private equity. The report shows that as of the end of August, there were 145,219 private equity funds in operation, with a total scale of 25.75 trillion yuan. Since October 2025, the scale of the private equity industry has been breaking historical records for 11 consecutive months .

In contrast to the steadily increasing asset management scale, the number of private fund managers continued to shrink. At the end of August, there were 18,452 private fund managers, a decrease of 60 from the end of July and a decrease of 779 from the beginning of the year.

Industry insiders believe that the rise and fall of private asset management scale and the number of private fund managers is a microcosm of the accelerated process of survival of the fittest and optimization of the industry ecosystem in recent years.

Securities-related private equity funds remain the main driver of growth.

According to data from the Asset Management Association of China, as of the end of August, there were 145,219 private equity funds in operation, with a total scale of 25.75 trillion yuan.

Among them, there are 84,130 private securities investment funds, accounting for about 58% of the total number, with a scale of 9.08 trillion yuan, accounting for about 35%; 29,608 private equity investment funds, with a scale of 11.93 trillion yuan; and 30,840 venture capital funds, with a scale of 4.47 trillion yuan.

The aforementioned monthly statistical report also shows that 1,890 new private equity fund products were registered in August, with a total registered size of 72.402 billion yuan. Among them, 1,205 were private securities investment funds, with a registered size of 35.061 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 64% of the new issuances and nearly half of the total size. Equity and venture capital funds accounted for approximately 37.3 billion yuan in registered size.

Industry insiders believe that the record-breaking scale of the private equity industry is due, on the one hand , to the decline in the returns on deposits and fixed-income assets, leading residents and institutions to accelerate the shift of funds towards equity and hedging assets.

On the other hand, under the AI wave, technology companies have a strong demand for equity financing and relatively smooth exit channels, and the scale of private equity investment funds is also steadily expanding.

The number of private fund managers has decreased by more than 700 this year.

In contrast to the continuous increase in scale, the number of private equity firms (managers) has continued to shrink.

Data shows that as of the end of August, there were 18,452 private fund managers in operation, a decrease of 60 from the end of July and a decrease of 779 from the 19,231 at the beginning of the year.

In addition, as of September 23, 889 private fund managers have deregistered this year, including 405 who deregistered voluntarily, 391 who deregistered through the association, 2 who deregistered according to announcements, and 91 who deregistered after 12 months without managing any funds.

Meanwhile, the number of private equity firms meeting the new threshold is decreasing. According to third-party statistics, the number of newly registered private equity managers this year is expected to be around 65, a record low in recent years.

With fewer new faces and existing institutional investors "clearing out" their investments, the trend of high-quality development in the private equity industry is becoming increasingly evident.

Senior investment managers continue to "appear" in public.

In addition, several veteran asset management professionals have chosen to start their own private businesses this year, either by establishing their own firms or joining strong platforms.

The continued presence of seasoned investment managers is bringing new momentum to the industry.

Industry insiders generally believe that the emergence of this group of investment managers with strong performance and capital strength is consistent with the continuous implementation of regulations and the constant improvement of supervision in the private equity industry in recent years, and will also begin to influence the landscape to some extent.

According to information released by the association, Hillhouse Capital’s secondary market private asset management platform, Lingren Investment, welcomed a heavyweight value investment manager, Bao Wuke, in May of this year.

According to relevant information, Bao Wuke not only serves as a core fund manager at Lingren Investment, but also holds the title of managing director, a position considered a "senior executive" within the company.

Another veteran value investor , Cao Mingchang, also completed the establishment of his private equity firm, Puqiao Asset Management, in March 2026. Currently, Puqiao Asset Management has basically completed the construction of its founding team, with Cao Mingchang personally serving as the investment director.

In addition, Ye Zhishen, a partner at a leading private equity firm, founded Fengye Private Equity in recent years, which completed its registration on September 11; and Li Jianfei, a former senior partner and fund manager at Guoyuan Xinda, founded Buzheng Private Equity, which has also completed its manager registration.

Industry insiders say that the increasingly healthy ecosystem of the private equity industry may be the reason why these seasoned professionals are willing to make their mark in the private equity sector.

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