Public markets are dying – the future is private

The number of companies listed on public stockmarkets is falling, while private equity is on the rise. Matthew Partridge talks to Helen Steer of PE house Pantheon about the sector’s advantages.

One of the big trends of the past two decades has been the decline of the listed companies. Since 1996 the number of companies listed on the world's major stock exchanges has fallen by 41%, dropping by half in the United States and a quarter in the UK.

Meanwhile, private equity buying companies with the aim of turning them around and selling them for profit has experienced explosive growth with assets under management increasing from $707bn in 2000 to $4.92trn last year (2017). But there is still plenty of scope for growth. Private equity accounts for just 3.5% of global assets (compared with 38.2% for listed companies and 7% for real estate).

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri