Private Equity Zombies Expected to Multiply as Deal Lull Drags

Private equity fund investors expect more so-called zombie funds to show up in their portfolios as dealmaking remains muted, according to a survey from secondaries firm Coller Capital.

More than half of investors said they expect the number of zombie funds, where a money manager prolongs a fund’s life beyond its expiration date to maximize management fees, to proliferate in the next two years, the survey found. That’s up from 2024, when 28% of fund investors anticipated an uptick.

“That’s higher than I would have anticipated,” said Eric Foran, a partner at Coller, which surveyed 108 private capital ...