Publications
& Policy

Invest Europe responded to the Review of Solvency II technical rules consultation, advocating for revisions to ensure insurers can include non-substantially leveraged private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure funds in the long-term equity category without complex look-through, to boost insurer take-up and unlock long-term capital for EU innovation and growth.

In this response, we emphasised that climate resilience is vital for protecting assets, ensuring market stability, and unlocking new opportunities in a climate-volatile world. By addressing financing gaps, regulatory hurdles, and scaling innovative solutions, strategic adaptation investments can strengthen markets and drive sustainable growth. This submission forms part of Invest Europe’s engagement through the Climate Resilience Reflection Group.

Invest Europe responded to the Review of the Merger Guidelines General Consultation, advocating for clearer and expanded safe harbours, well-defined presumptions, and explicit recognition of private equity’s distinct structures and incentives, to ensure proportionate, predictable, and cost-efficient merger control that supports EU investment, innovation, and SME growth.

Find out more about the terms we use across our key publications, the scope of our statistics, and the criteria for fund inclusion and exclusion.

Invest Europe is committed to upholding integrity and ethical conduct in all its activities. To support this, the Association has established a whistleblowing policy that enables employees, Board members, and other individuals with a contractual relationship to confidentially report any actual or suspected breaches of statutory or regulatory rules. The policy ensures protection against retaliation and outlines clear procedures for reporting, in line with the Belgian Act of 28 November 2022 and the EU Directive 2019/1937. It encourages open communication and reinforces the Association’s dedication to good governance and business ethics.

Invest Europe responded to the EC targeted consultation on supplementary pensions, calling for the removal of restrictions to pension funds’ investments in our asset class. This response is part of a general charge against EU rules that prevent the ability of our members to raise funds from institutional investors. We argue that there is a natural alignment between the long-term liabilities of pension funds and the long-term outlook of unlisted funds – making pension funds the best placed to be investors in EU businesses through these funds. We suggest that the prudent person principle under Article 19 should not be interpreted in a way that discourages or indirectly restricts investments in long-term assets that contribute to innovation and economic growth.

The Global Risk Landscape survey shows companies are becoming more risk-averse among global trade tensions and policy shifts. 69% of respondents defined themselves as risk-averse compared to 61% last year. BDO's Global Risk Landscape Report in 2024 highlighted the importance of embracing risks and developing an anti-fragile mindset and approach. The retreat from risk in the last 12 months could lead to lower growth in the future.

AI is becoming increasingly common in business practices, generating significant opportunities as well as material risks across sectors and therefore investment portfolios. Railpen's report, in collaboration with Chronos Sustainability, contains actionable recommendations to help investors move from theory to practice on responsible AI.

Despite uncertainty in global markets, AI remains a strategic priority among business executives, investors, and government, fueling sustained investment in AI infrastructure and dealmaking with AI developers and AI-enabled companies. Amid geopolitical tension, nations are vying for pole position as governments funnel subsidies, grants, and incentives to AI innovation hubs like Silicon Valley and Beijing.

The Austrian Investing Report 2024, published by invest.austria, is one of the most in-depth surveys of the domestic private capital market. Published every two years, the study exclusively examines the perspective of private investors, a central pillar of the Austrian startup ecosystem that has often been underrepresented in public perception.

Healthcare services dealmaking showed signs of stabilization in Q2, with steady activity replacing the pessimism that defined the start of the year. Standout transactions and sustained growth capital investments in subsectors such as radiology, home-based care, and mental health highlight investors' selective appetite despite regulatory headwinds. Key themes include heightened state-level scrutiny and fallout from the recently enacted "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which introduced significant Medicaid cuts and may drive up uninsured rates. While IPO activity remains dormant, exit momentum has been resilient, and overall dealmaking has kept pace with last year’s levels. Meanwhile, creative liquidity strategies such as secondaries and earnouts are reshaping how sponsors are navigating a tough market with constrained exit opportunities.

Private capital – including private equity (PE), venture capital (VC), and infrastructure funds – can play a critical role in strengthening Europe's defence industrial base. Invest Europe welcomes the Commission’s intention to increase funding flexibility, support innovation, and facilitate the scaling of strategic capabilities through the amendments proposed under the mini omnibus for defence. Our members have a long-standing track record of successfully investing in companies active in defence, security, and dual-use technologies – backing innovation, growth, and industrial resilience. They stand ready to continue using their expertise and capacity in the defence sector.

The most comprehensive analysis of the European private equity industry’s growth in assets over the past decade, as well as available capital for future investment. The report demonstrates private equity and venture capital’s increasing scale as it becomes more embedded in Europe’s economy and society, and its capacity to back businesses and industries that represent the future in terms of growth, innovation and sovereignty.

The Swiss Venture Capital Report is the reference publication for investment in Swiss start-ups. In addition to the annual report, we provide an update for the first half year in July plus the results of a survey among 100 Swiss investors which provides an outlook for the coming 12 months.

The report demonstrates the true scale of private capital’s impact on Europe, by examining investment in its entirety, including leverage and co-investment, for the period from 2015 to 2024.