The world is changing every day. Looking back, only 20 years ago, mobile phones and the Internet were not even popular. Who would have thought that today, people almost couldn't live without a phone. Likewise, the investment world is quietly undergoing major changes. Over the past two decades or so, the U.S. stock market has undergone dramatic changes, one of which has been a dramatic reduction in the number of listed companies.

1996 marks the peak of the number of listed companies in the history of the United States. Looking at the record of 8,090 companies listed in the whole year of 1996, and in less than 20 years, the number of listed companies in 2018 has dropped significantly to 4397. There is a downward trend in companies going IPO. This is also the exact reason why seasoned investors and institutional investors had shifted their investment focus to companies that have not yet gone public. They are also looking deeper into the private market at the same time.

Why large companies are less willing to go public
The reason why companies choose to go public is largely to raise funds in the open market to further expand their scale. Nonetheless, companies need to comply with stricter regulatory requirements after listing, and the company’s stock price will also be subject to market fluctuations. There is a higher chance that the company will be in a crisis of mergers and acquisitions.

With the emergence of private equity funds such as venture capital, on the other hand, companies do not have to rely on listing to raise funds. Many companies choose to raise funds through the private market, greatly delaying their listing plans in exchange for greater corporate control. Tencent was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. At that time, the market price was only 1 billion Renminbi. In contrast, the parent company of Douyin, ByteDance, has a market value of more than RMB 500 billion today, but it has not yet chosen to go public, making it is impossible for investors in the open market to invest in their company.

However, through private market investment, investors can directly invest in the private equity of the company that is not listed, and earn the difference before and after its listing. Take Amazon as an example, which was considered a small-cap stock when it went public in 1997, is now a $566.3 billion behemoth. It has grown from an online retailer to a tech, media and retail giant. If investors can invest in its equity before it went public, they can capture a more sizeable return.

How to participate in the private investment market
The investment logic of private equity is to choose those industries or projects that are in the growth stage and have great room for future development. Buy them in advance at "cheaper" prices, and earn future explosive returns.

Investing in private markets remains a popular strategy for deep-pocketed investors and institutions. For the vast majority of individuals, entrusting capital to realiable, licensed and private equity fund managers who have the experience and resources to properly select, manage and exit private investments is the best way to gain exposure to private markets. Investing in the right private equity funds also ensures proper diversification of private capital allocation.

Leveraging on artificial intelligence and digital technology, Altive is more of the most prominent private market investment platform that allow ordinary investors to start investing in private debt with a minimum of US$100,000, hugely reducing the entry threshold.