Global Capital Reassesses Private Market Investment Strategies, Declaring the End of Easy Money

 

Pension funds and state-backed investors from around the world gathered at the Milken Forum in Singapore, delivering a sobering message: the era of easy money in private markets is over.

 

From Singapore’s Temasek Holdings to the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS), asset allocators are reevaluating their capital deployment strategies in private markets.

 

TMRS Chief Investment Officer Yup Kim said that after 15 years of excess returns, the future looks far more complex. He warned that investors need new strategies and sharper execution to sustain performance.

 

“Using yesterday’s methods for tomorrow won’t deliver ideal results,” Kim said during a panel at the Milken Institute Asia Summit on Wednesday.

 

For many limited partners—including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices—2025 has been fraught with challenges. Economic uncertainty from tariffs and trade frictions has intensified liquidity demands, while the private equity fundraising peak was just four years ago.

 

Stagnant returns have left paper profits trapped in illiquid investments.

 

Much of their capital remains locked in bullish bets made during a liquidity-abundant cycle. Kim noted that 2021 was likely a “bad investment year,” marked by overpaying and excessive risk-taking. He added that parts of the private market may repeat these mistakes by the end of 2025, citing artificially high valuations in the AI sector as an example.

 

Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, an advisor at Singapore’s GIC, highlighted a persistent issue for Asian investors: despite regional economic growth, it doesn’t always translate into superior private market performance.

 

“Private valuations largely depend on public markets,” he said during a second panel discussion on Thursday. “As a result, Asian private equity remains challenged.”

 

Jaensubhakij added that public markets need sustained positive performance over years to drive exit valuations to levels that justify additional investments by private equity firms.