INVESTING IN Small Business

The private equity industry is well known, but not always well understood.AIC President and CEO Will Dunham joined Brody Mullins and Lisa Camooso Miller on The Deciders to talk about the businesses and people behind the industry.They covered how private equity helps small businesses grow, supports the retirements of millions of Americans, and gives more workers a chance to share in the success they help create.As Will put it, our members are “professional business builders.” AIC’s job is to make sure their work, and its impact in communities across the country, is understood in Washington.Watch the full conversation: https://lnkd.in/epSRradB

More than 700 million payments moved through Paymentus in 2025, serving thousands of businesses and the customers. Private capital makes that kind of scale possible. It backed the company at every stage, from early venture funding in 2007, to growth investment from Accel-KKR, to a public listing in 2021, giving it the capital to build the technology and expand the platform along the way.Private capital doesn’t just fund growth. It fuels it. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

86% of investors are confident private credit will keep delivering value over the next three to five years, and 85% plan to maintain or increase their exposure over that period.The investors who know the asset class best continue to see the long-term value and opportunity that private investment offers.Full results: https://bit.ly/3TenCW7

Excelitas Technologies, a Pittsburgh-based leader in photonics and sensing, partnered with private equity to grow. It increased R&D spending by around 60%, expanded its manufacturing footprint, and completed six strategic acquisitions, strengthening U.S. leadership in technologies used across defense, semiconductors, and life sciences.Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

Investors credit performance, not hype.Three in four investors surveyed say private credit offers attractive risk-adjusted returns relative to other asset classes. They point to private credit's fundamentals: a yield premium over public credit, added diversification, and access to markets other lenders don't reach. And 73% call current valuations fair or undervalued.Full results: https://bit.ly/3TenCW7

Employee ownership gives workers a real stake in the businesses they help build. A year after the ISC sale, nearly 400 of them are still seeing what that stake made possible.

In Mississippi County, Arkansas, private capital helped build Big River Steel, one of the most advanced and energy-efficient steel mills in the world, through what was the largest private investment in state history. The move created hundreds of well-paid industrial jobs.This is what revitalizing American manufacturing looks like. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

At JFK, private capital is rebuilding one of the nation's busiest gateways. The New Terminal One, a $9.5 billion public-private partnership, is expected to create about 10,000 jobs, with 23 gates and modern check-in and arrivals halls when complete.This is private capital building the infrastructure Americans rely on. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

88% of institutional investors agree: private credit is an important source of income and diversification.These are the investors managing public pension funds, endowments, and foundations who know the benefits private investment offers best – and who invest over the long term when building a resilient portfolio.Full results: https://bit.ly/3TenCW7

American small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and private equity is a crucial partner in their growth. 85% of private equity investment goes to small businesses, and the industry backs more than 13,000 U.S. companies across every sector, with more than 50,000 investments since 2020.Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

When AIC member KKR sold Integrated Specialty Coverages, nearly 400 employees shared in the success of the business they helped build.Through KKR's employee ownership program, workers received up to 30 months' pay. For one product manager, that meant taking his daughters to Maui for the first time and putting money toward a house. For a longtime operations director, it meant investing for her children's future.See how private equity-backed employee ownership is giving workers a stake in business success and a path to building wealth for their families. Read Alex Nicoll's full story in Business Insider: https://bit.ly/4hmssKQ

ICYMI: We had a sweet time on Capitol Hill last week. 🍦Alongside the New York State Society, we honored the Congressional interns of the New York delegation and shared the story of Van Leeuwen, a Brooklyn food truck that scaled into a national brand with private equity investment.

74% of institutional investors call private credit a core component of a resilient portfolio. A resilient portfolio needs more than the public markets, and the CIOs and heads of alternatives at pension funds, endowments, and foundations invest over the long term.Full results: https://bit.ly/3TenCW7

ICYMI: The Washington Post editorial board’s verdict on Jersey Mike’s going public last week: “Jersey Mike’s Is Growing. Thank Private Equity.”AIC member Blackstone acquired a majority stake in 2024 and remains the largest shareholder. Under its ownership, the chain preserved the brand customers love, brought in experienced management, and added hundreds of new locations. In June, Jersey Mike’s ranked first among quick service restaurants in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, unseating Chick-fil-A. The offering raised $1 billion to fund international expansion.As the board writes, “If that doesn’t sound like private equity, maybe it’s worth considering whether the populist caricature of it is fair.”From preserving the brand to professionalizing management and fueling a period of major growth, private equity plays a real and impactful role in growing American businesses.Read more: https://bit.ly/4w8FX4l

Thank you to the New York State Society for partnering with us to honor the Congressional interns of the New York delegation. 🍦Interns stopped by for a scoop from Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, a New York small business that grew from a Brooklyn food truck into a national brand with the support of private equity investment from AIC member Beliade Consumer Partners.Stories just like Van Leeuwen’s are unfolding across the country. In New York alone, private equity supports more than 800,000 jobs at nearly 2,000 companies, most of them small businesses.We're proud to showcase real world examples of how investment drives growth across America.

ICYMI: In a new RealClearHealth op-ed, Professor Ryan McDevitt, explains the flawed research at the heart of proposed state bans on private equity in health care. He points to a review of more than 1,200 hospital acquisitions that found no greater likelihood of closure, no price changes for the vast majority of procedures, and no increase in mortality or readmissions. Cost savings came from administrative functions, not medical staff. Separate analyses find that private equity-backed hospitals succeed financially through better business practices rather than by cutting the quantity or quality of care.Many of the current state proposals can be traced to a 2023 study reporting a 25% increase in hospital-acquired conditions after acquisition. But as Professor McDevitt points out, those conditions are already so rare that the increase translates to only two more incidents a year. In his words, that is "a far cry from a nationwide crisis."On more consequential outcomes like mortality and readmission rates, the 2023 study found outcomes improved or held steady after PE acquisition. Read more: https://bit.ly/3S295fO

Private capital is one of the largest employers in the country. In 2024, private equity directly employed 13.3 million Americans and supported another 20 million jobs indirectly, paying roughly $1 trillion in wages and benefits every year, with an average of $85,000 per worker, well above the national average.Behind those numbers are workers and families contributing to communities across the country. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

Headlines have been full of speculation about how investors feel about private credit. So we asked them.AIC surveyed 200 investment decision-makers, and the message was consistent across the board:- 85% call private credit an important source of income and diversification.- 86% are confident it will keep delivering value over the next three to five years.- 85% plan to maintain or increase their exposure over the same period.The people closest to the asset class continue to see value and durability. Full results: https://bit.ly/4yBQlUI

AIC President & CEO Will Dunham joins Finseca CEO Marc Cadin this Thursday, July 23 at 2:00 PM ET for a conversation on private markets, the headlines, and the policy decisions shaping what comes next.Register: https://lnkd.in/eCKgR3gE

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, private capital helped legacy hotelier Hilton navigate it. Private investors backed the company, strengthened the business, and helped it come out the other side stronger. It went on to become the most successful private equity investment in history.That's just one story in a 250-year history of private capital supporting American businesses through good times – and challenges.See how private capital fuels American dynamism: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

Today on Capitol Hill, Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling made the case for expanding access to alternative assets for savers with 401(k)s. Workers deserve access to the same diversification options that have secured public pensions for decades. Watch his answer and learn more: https://lnkd.in/eeSAt5CW

For 250 years, private capital has helped build the American economy. From funding early merchants to backing the technologies shaping the future, it has financed new businesses, built infrastructure, and created countless opportunities. Today it supports 13.3 million American jobs. Our new report with National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) and PitchBook, America at 250, tells that story. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3SWoDSz

Private equity has outperformed public markets across every major time horizon. Over the last 5-year period, private equity outperformed by 2.1% for U.S.-focused funds. Over 10 years, by 2.5%. And over 20 years, private equity returned 14.3% annually compared to 10.2% for the S&P 500, according to Prof. Gregory Brown, Research Director at UNC's Institute for Private Capital. That kind of consistent performance matters for retirement savers. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D

A March 2025 study by Prof. Gregory Brown, Research Director at UNC’s Institute for Private Capital, along with Prof. Christian Lundblad and William Volckmann, examined 7,816 private funds across asset classes and geographies and found that buyout funds and private debt have tended to perform well on a risk-adjusted basis. These are the same types of investments that could soon be available to 401(k) savers within balanced, professionally managed target-date funds. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D

A 2024 Ohio State study of over 5,000 private funds found allocations to private equity buyouts increased excess portfolio returns by 2.1% annually on a risk-adjusted basis. Everyday savers deserve access to the same proven investments that have strengthened public pensions for decades. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D

The number of U.S. publicly traded companies has fallen by more than half, from 8,800 in 1997 to 3,952 in 2024. Companies are staying private longer, often during their fastest growth years. And 87% of companies with more than $100 million in annual revenue remain private. Much of today’s growth sits outside public markets, where 401(k) savers have been unable to benefit from it. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D

Everyday savers may soon have access to the same investment options that have helped secure retirements for 34 million teachers, firefighters, and other public servants. For decades, public pension funds have relied on private investments to deliver strong, stable returns. All American workers should be able to enjoy those same options. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D

Today's public markets are increasingly concentrated, and much of today's business growth occurs outside the public markets, leaving retirement savers with fewer options to benefit. Allowing 401(k) savers to access private markets will ensure better diversification and the opportunity to invest in high-growth private companies. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D

A recent Department of Labor proposal provides strong protections for savers who want to include private assets as part of their 401(k)s. Under the proposal, plan managers could include private equity and private credit alongside stocks and bonds in balanced, professionally managed plans, like target-date funds. The move would give savers more options to achieve diversification and long-term returns. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4mtFR3D