Information provider for the alternative assets industry Preqin revealed that global private equity fundraising reached $431 billion for 2013. This represented a 13% increase from the previous year and was led by a substantial growth in capital gathered for investment in developed economies.

In a press release, Preqin said this was the highest amount of capital secured since the start of the global financial crisis. This compared with the high of $688 billion raised by funds that closed in 2008. According to the company's research, the high capital growth was due to robust fundraising activity for funds focused in North America and Europe. Comparatively, funds geared towards Asia and other regions saw a substantial decline in fundraising levels in 2013.

From its talks with LPs, Preqin recorded that 59% of investors saw Europe as giving the best private equity investment opportunities given the current financial conditions. A slightly smaller percentage, 54%, felt that this opportunity was found in North America. Only 22% felt similarly for Asia while 11% had the same sentiment for other regions. Preqin said that this is the first time that investors placed Europe at the top of the category since they started documenting this information.

The research revealed that private equity funds focused in North America that had a final close last year were able to secure $266 billion in funding, representing a 33% increase from 2012 when only $200 billion was raised. For funds that targeted regions Europe and North America, the capital raised dropped from $86 billion in 2012 to $61 billion in 2013.

The largest fund to close in the fourth quarter of last year was Carlyle Partners VI. It raised $13 billion which comprised nearly 60% of the capital gathered by North America-focused funds that also closed in the same period. For the entire year, the biggest fund to close was CVC European Partners VI when it raised capital commitments amounting to €10.5 billion or $14 billion.