26 Aug 2026
Signal Headquarters
Vol. I
No. 253

Venture fund liquidity is severely lagging: 10-year funds are taking ~18 years to return capital, and post-2020 mega-funds show high TVPI but low DPI.

The case

10-year venture funds are actually taking 18 years to return capital.

“These 10-year funds are taking 18 years.”
David Frankel · 8 Aug 2026

There are approximately 30,000 portfolio companies of mid-market private equity firms that cannot be sold and cannot go public, representing around $20 trillion in value.

“There's about 30,000 portfolio companies of mid-market private equity firms that can't be sold, Mhm. can't go public, there's no you know, 20 trillion or something worth.”
Tony James · 5 May 2026

Topics

Fund LiquidityFund PerformanceVenture Capital

Signal Headquarters · compiled from attributed public discussion. Last updated 2026-08-08.