Private equity risks leaving ASX behind, RBA warns

Private equity’s relentless rise risks undermining the size and diversity of the Australian sharemarket, as privatisations handily outnumber floats, the Reserve Bank of Australia has warned.

Investment funds had approximately $66 billion in privately held Australian assets last June, up 75 per cent from December 2019. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 has kept shrinking as companies are plucked off the exchange and a dearth of fresh listings renders the IPO window closed, the RBA found in its latest bulletin.