Fundraising is never easy, and in 2025, it’s only gotten more competitive.
Allocators are moving fast, expectations are higher, and market signals change by the week. For fundraisers, the pressure to stay informed (and ahead) is constant.
At Dakota, we get it.
We’ve spent years in the seat, tracking commitments, managing relationships, and trying to make sense of fragmented market intelligence. That’s why we built Dakota Marketplace: to give fundraising teams a single place to see what’s happening, who’s allocating, and where capital is flowing next.
Q3 2025 was one of the most active fundraising quarters since 2021, despite ongoing macro uncertainty. Mega-fund closes, infrastructure demand, secondaries momentum, and sovereign activity shaped the quarter’s flow.
In this article, we’ll go over the top 10 trends every fundraiser should know from Q3.
1. Mega-Funds Took the Lead
Large managers continue to draw outsized attention from LPs.
From Great Hill Partners’ $7B close to AlpInvest’s $20B secondaries vehicle, allocators concentrated capital with managers who’ve proven scale and repeatability.
Veritas Capital, Ridgemont, and Peak Rock also crossed billion-dollar-plus marks.
2. Secondaries Aren’t Slowing Down
Secondaries strategies remained a dominant theme.
Blackstone closed the largest infrastructure secondaries fund ever at $5.5B, while HarbourVest and Pantheon expanded platforms.
NAV lending and continuation vehicles gained traction, giving LPs more flexibility in longer hold environments.
3. Specialists Are Outperforming Generalists
LPs continue to reward managers with deep domain expertise.
Monterro’s €1.73B raise for B2B software and Razor’s Edge’s $560M for defense-tech show this clearly.
Themes such as climate, fintech, healthcare, and national security attracted more targeted flows, with reduced appetite for broad generalist platforms.
4. Private Credit’s Momentum Continues
Private credit had another strong quarter.
Benefit Street’s $2.3B continuation vehicle, General Atlantic Credit’s $2.1B close, and Cottonwood’s $1B special sits raise highlight the trend.
LPs remain focused on structured yield and downside protection.
5. Infrastructure, Especially Digital, Is Accelerating
Allocators leaned into long-duration, inflation-linked assets.
From Blue Owl and QIA’s $3B digital infra platform to the energy transition strategies of Macquarie, ICG, and Stonepeak, infra is pulling attention (and capital) across real assets.
6. Venture Capital Is Selective, but Still Moving
While early-stage slowed overall, capital flowed to proven platforms.
Oak HC/FT, Menlo Ventures, Atlas, True Ventures, and others raised thematic vehicles.
Themes like AI-first platforms, healthcare, and defense-tech led LP interest.
7. Sovereign Wealth Funds Are Stepping Forward
Sovereigns dominated headlines and capital flows.
From PIF’s $55B EA acquisition to QIA seeding digital infra, sovereigns leaned into IP, real assets, and sports/media.
They’re setting the tone for where institutional capital is headed next.
8. Healthcare Remains a Priority for Both LPs and GPs
LPs and GPs alike prioritized healthcare.
CapVest’s €10B Stada acquisition and commitments from UTIMCO and New Mexico SIC highlighted the sector’s appeal.
From biotech to diagnostics, LPs see durable demand with innovation upside.
9. Real Assets Rebounded With Focus
Fundraising picked up for select real asset strategies.
Multifamily, farmland, and infra secondaries all gained traction.
Even with headwinds in office real estate, LPs showed continued demand for income and stability.
10. Capital is Concentrating at the Top
Perhaps the clearest trend: a smaller number of allocators are driving outsized flows.
UTIMCO ($26B+) and New Mexico SIC ($15.5B) led the way, shaping which managers closed, which sectors surged, and where 2026 attention is heading.
What This Means for Fundraisers
Across Q3, allocator behavior reinforced three clear priorities:
- Scale + specialization: LPs want proven managers with clearly defined expertise.
- Yield + infrastructure: Long-duration real assets and private credit remained core allocations.
- Liquidity optionality: Secondaries, continuation funds, and NAV lending are now mainstream tools.
For fundraisers, understanding these shifts is vital, and Dakota Marketplace is built to support that work.
Stay One Step Ahead with Dakota Marketplace
In one platform, you can:
- Track fund closes and allocator commitments
- See which strategies are gaining momentum
- Follow people moves and mandate shifts
- Benchmark your pipeline against real market activity
Thousands of fundraising teams rely on Dakota Marketplace to get clarity, move faster, and win more consistently.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace to get real-time visibility into the capital flows shaping the landscape.
