Private equity portfolio exit data from Private Equity Info shows PE median hold periods have stretched from 5.0 to 6.0 years, a 20% increase in the last four years alone. Meanwhile portfolio company cohort data shows the full hold period increase has yet to show up in the exit data.
We have reported on median private equity hold periods for two decades. Our free PE Market Dashboard shows the historical trend for PE holding periods, defined by exit data.
However, the median hold period is a lagging indicator because it is calculated upon portfolio company exit. More on this below.
Below is a scatter plot of 18,612 PE portfolio exits recorded in our M&A research database from 2016 to 2026 YTD. Each dot on this graph represents one company, placed by its exit month and how long the PE sponsor held it. The orange line is the median for each year (same as the median from the chart above, but only for 2016+).
Note: the median hold (orange line) appears relatively constant on this chart because the y-axis scale spans 45 years.
Every dot on the graph above is an exit, but a portfolio company still waiting for a buyer has no exit date. Consequently, missing from the data above are currently held portfolio companies still aging within the portfolio.
This is why reporting median age based on portfolio exits is a lagging indicator. It reports the hold periods of companies that cleared, not the hold periods sponsors are living through right now.
By contrast, looking at PE portfolio companies still held by vintage year of acquisition, instead of from the exit, we can track the time decay of PE holds and compare each vintage cohort year by year.
The graph below shows the cohort data, where each line follows one vintage acquisition year and tracks the percentage of portfolio companies still held by age in portfolio.
Most vintages follow a similar path. Exits are rare in years one and two, pick up in years three through six, and by year ten roughly a quarter to a third of the cohort remains.
The 2005, 2020 and 2021 vintages are not following that path.
2020 and 2021 Vintages: Both sit above every prior cohort at every point on their curves because both vintages were acquired near the top of the last cycle and met a more difficult exit window early in their lives.
| Vintage | Still held at year 5 | Still held at year 6 |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | ~61% | ~51% |
| 2010 | ~58% | ~47% |
| 2015 | ~67% | ~58% |
| 2020 | ~80% | ~74% |
| 2021 | ~83% | — |
The sharpest comparison is with 2005.
The 2005 curve also shows how much timing matters. It fell faster than any other cohort in its first three years, as sponsors sold into the 2006 to 2007 boom, then decelerated exits as the financial crisis of 2008 to 2010 shut the window.
The 2005 cohort's fifth year was 2010, in the trough after the financial crisis, when exit markets were about as difficult as they have been in two decades. Even then, the 2005 vintage had exited 39% of its companies by year five. By contrast, the 2021 vintage has only exited 17% of its portfolio companies by year five.
A cohort's shape is significantly influenced by the macroeconomics around the expected exit window.
The 2020 and 2021 companies still in portfolios will eventually exit. Until then, as their in-portfolio age continues to increase, their median exit age, as a cohort, will likely pull the median exit age up beyond the current 6.0-year mark.
As the headline median holding period increases, it may not mean that the market is deteriorating. It likely means the backlog is finally becoming visible as the 2020 and 2021 vintages clear as exits.