Italy-based LPs continue to demonstrate steady engagement with private markets, with a growing share of activity coming from non-institutional investors. In particular, family offices have increased their presence over recent years. Elsewhere, the proportion of private pension funds, foundations, and banks investing in private capital has fallen in that timeframe. Across asset classes, private equity remains the most widely targeted area for investment, followed closely by private credit and infrastructure. The data suggests a consistent prioritization of core private market strategies, with allocation patterns broadly aligned across investor groups. At the strategy level, the focus remains on established segments. Within private equity, buyout strategies are most targeted as of 2025 (17%), with venture (15%) and growth (11%) also featuring prominently. In private credit, direct lending accounts for 22% of targeted allocations, followed by distressed debt (21%) and mezzanine(17%).
Geographically, Italy-based LPs tracked by Preqin continue to prioritize Europe across asset classes, with the region accounting for around half of planned allocations in Global strategies also represent a meaningful share, while North America and APAC allocations remain comparatively limited. In private equity, 47% of LPs are targeting Europe over the next 12 months, followed by global (37%), North America (8%), and APAC (3%).
Early 2026 data suggest that strategic patterns remain broadly unchanged among private equity investors (Fig. 8). In private credit, LPs continue to lean toward direct lending and are showing more interest in mezzanine.