The universe of private equity investors has changed dramatically in the past few years. So much so that previous dominant players in the area – such as banks, insurers and public pension schemes – are no longer the most significant investors in terms of the overall amount of capital they invest.

While it is well known that banks and insurers were forced to limit their exposure to the asset class following post-financial crisis regulation, the proportion of capital provided by public pension funds in the average private equity fund has halved in recent years. Just 13% of capital committed to funds that closed between 2011 and 2013 came from public pension funds, according to data provider Preqin, less than half the 27% that they committed to a typical fund between 2008 and 2010.