U.S. Firms Dominate HEC Paris–Dow Jones Ranking Of Upper Mid-Market Private Equity

American private equity firms dominate the upper mid-market, according to the newly released HEC Paris-Dow Jones Upper MidMarket Performance Ranking, which places U.S.-based Alpine Investors at the top of the global list.

The 2025 ranking, developed by HEC Paris strategy professor Oliver Gottschalg, evaluates private equity firms based on the aggregate performance they delivered to investors between 2012 and 2021. Alpine Investors, which focuses on software and services companies, claims the No. 1 spot, followed by Greenbriar Equity Group and Great Hill Partners – both also based in the United States. 

Overall, U.S. firms account for 18 of the top 20 firms in the ranking, reflecting the strength of the American private equity ecosystem in the upper mid-market segment.

U.S. FIRMS TAKE 18 OF TOP 20 SPOTS

The ranking is part of a long-running research project led by Gottschalg in partnership with Dow Jones. Since 2009, the collaboration has produced a series of rankings analyzing performance across different private equity segments, from large buyouts to growth capital. 

The ranking defines the “upper mid-market” segment as firms that raised between $2.5 billion and $7.5 billion in cumulative equity between 2012 and 2021. To build the list, Gottschalg analyzed a database of 695 private equity firms and 1,439 funds representing roughly $2.5 trillion in capital.

Performance scores are derived from multiple measures of investment returns, including internal rate of return (IRR), distributions to paid-in capital (DPI), and total value to paid-in capital (TVPI). 

The resulting top 20 includes only two firms headquartered outside the United States: Oakley Capital of the United Kingdom (No. 5) and Vitruvian Partners of the U.K. (No. 9). Canada’s Novacap appears at No. 12.

The rest of the list is dominated by American investors including Peak Rock Capital, Cortec Group, Olympus Partners, Court Square Capital Partners, and Ridgemont Equity Partners.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS – MOST TOP FIRMS ARE TWO DECADES OLD

Beyond geography, the study highlights a key factor associated with top-tier performance: longevity.

According to the research, the firms appearing in the top 20 have been active for an average of more than 20 years, suggesting that institutional experience and the ability to navigate multiple economic cycles remain powerful advantages in private equity investing.

There was one notable exception: Arcline Investment Management, which debuted at No. 4 despite raising its first fund only in 2019.

BROAD INVESTMENT STRATEGIES OUTPERFORM SPECIALIZATION

The ranking also challenges a growing industry trend toward sector specialization.

Nineteen of the top 20 firms pursue multi-sector or sector-agnostic investment strategies, while only one firm – healthcare-focused WindRose Health Investors – specializes in a single industry.

“Another important finding is that most companies in the ranking are sector-agnostic or invest in a wide range of sectors,” Gottschalg says in the report. “With the exception of healthcare specialist WindRose Health Investors, all Top 20 firms are active across several sectors or even sector agnostic in their approach.” 

The new ranking is separate from Gottschalg’s annual Growth Capital ranking, which is typically released each May. Past top 20 firms in that ranking are listed below.

2025 GLOBAL RANKING: TOP 20 GROWTH CAPITAL FIRMS 

Rank	Firm	Performance Score
1	Alpine Investors	2.26
2	Greenbriar Equity Group	1.90
3	Great Hill Partners	1.87
4	Arcline Investment Management	1.63
5	Oakley Capital	1.40
6	Peak Rock Capital	1.25
7	Cortec Group	1.18
8	Olympus Partners	1.08
9	Vitruvian Partners	0.99
10	Court Square Capital Partners	0.97
11	Ridgemont Equity Partners	0.94
12	Novacap Corporation	0.85
13	The Sterling Group	0.77
14	Lindsay Goldberg	0.76
15	Pamlico Capital	0.75
16	Kinderhook Industries	0.61
17	Quad-C	0.58
18	WindRose Health Investors	0.45
19	One Equity Partners	0.35
20	Wynnchurch Capital	0.26

SOURCE: HEC PARIS

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2024 GLOBAL RANKING: TOP 20 GROWTH CAPITAL FIRMS 

Rank	Firm	Performance Score	Headquarters
1	Ampersand Capital Partners	1.62	United States
2	Apis Partners	1.45	United Kingdom
3	Stripes	1.35	U.S./Ireland
4	The Raine Group	1.33	United States
5	Spectrum Equity	1.28	United States
6	Chicago Pacific Founders	1.12	United States
7	Sprints	1.11	United Kingdom
8	Whiz Partners	1.11	Japan
9	Insight Partners	1.10	United States
10	Primus Capital	1.03	United States
11	NEXT Investors	1.02	United States
12	Oria Capital	1.01	Brazil
13	PENM Partners	0.94	Vietnam
14	FTV Capital	0.94	United States
15	Catalyst Investors	0.92	United States
16	KJK Capital	0.92	Finland
17	Lead Edge Capital	0.85	United States
18	Bregal Sagemount	0.82	United States
19	Lighthouse Funds	0.80	United States
20	JMI Equity	0.71	United States

SOURCE: HEC PARIS

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2023 GLOBAL RANKING: TOP 20 GROWTH CAPITAL FIRMS 

Rank	Company	Performance Score	Headquarters
1	Ampersand Capital Partners	2.79	United States
2	Spark Capital	1.96	United States
3	Spectrum Equity	1.65	United States
4	Clairvest Group	1.57	Canada
5	Bregal Sagemount	1.49	United States
6	FTV Capital	1.45	United States
7	Ten Coves Capital	1.42	United States
8	Silversmith Capital Partners	1.24	United States
9	Insight Partners	1.11	United States
10	Summit Partners	1.00	United States
11	Keensight Capital	1.00	France
12	Verdane Capital Advisors	0.98	Norway
13	PENM Partners	0.88	Vietnam
14	PSG Equity	0.86	United States
15	KJK Capital	0.80	Finland
16	Primus Capital	0.72	United States
17	LLR Partners	0.71	United States
18	The Raine Group	0.63	United States
19	Creador	0.49	Malaysia
20	HighLight Capital	0.46	China

SOURCE: HEC PARIS

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2022 GLOBAL RANKING: TOP 20 GROWTH CAPITAL FIRMS 

Rank	Company	Performance Score	Headquarters
1	Ampersand Capital Partners	2.60	United States
2	Spark Capital	2.21	United States
3	Spectrum Equity	1.51	United States
4	Clairvest Group	1.43	Canada
5	Riyada Managers B.V.	1.36	The Netherlands
6	Ten Coves Capital	1.27	United States
7	Whiz Partners	1.24	Japan
8	Bregal Sagemount	1.11	United States
9	Insight Partners	1.07	United States
10	Summit Partners	0.83	United States
11	Verdane Capital Advisors	0.79	Norway
12	JMI Equity	0.75	United States
13	Camden Partners	0.72	United States
14	Keensight Capital	0.71	France
15	PENM Partners	0.62	Vietnam
16	FTV Capital	0.51	United States
17	Advantech Capital	0.35	Hong Kong
18	Faering Capital	0.34	India
19	Edison Partners	0.27	United States
20	Primus Capital	0.23	United States

SOURCE: HEC PARIS

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DON’T MISS JOBS: FOR THE FIRST TIME, UK & JAPAN FIRMS CRACK THE TOP 10 OF HEC PARIS-DOW JONES GROWTH CAPITAL RANKING

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