Invest Europe
Invest Europe is the association of the European private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors and of the investors in their funds. Its members are fund managers from early-stage venture capital to the largest buyout firms, together with pension funds, insurers, funds of funds and family offices. The association has offices in Brussels and London and was founded in 1983 as the European Venture Capital Association.
Invest Europe explains to policymakers how private equity works and takes part in EU rulemaking that affects private capital. The association collects data on fundraising, investment and exits across Europe and sets professional standards for reporting to investors and for ESG reporting. Members meet at its conferences and training courses, which range from fund administration to valuation and the AIFMD.
Members and membership
Invest Europe has 626 members in 57 countries, 42 of them in Europe, split roughly equally between private equity firms, venture capital firms and limited partners. A further 104 associate members are advisers such as law firms and consultants. Together the members manage 60 percent of the 1.37 trillion euros that the European private equity and venture capital industry has under management.
Membership is organized in four platforms for limited partners, global private equity, venture capital and the mid-market, so that each group can address its own questions. All members follow the code of conduct in the Invest Europe Professional Standards Handbook.
Private equity activity report
Investing in Europe: Private Equity Activity is the yearly report of Invest Europe on fundraising, investment and exits, based on the European Data Cooperative of the national associations. The 2025 edition shows fundraising of 147 billion euros, up 16 percent and second only to 2022, and investment of 135 billion euros, the second-best year after 2021. Exits reached 45 billion euros, and for the first time the report adds continuation funds and investment in defense and deep tech.
A second yearly report, Capital Under Management and Dry Powder, counts 1.367 trillion euros under management for 2025 and 459 billion euros of dry powder, the capital that funds have raised but not yet invested.
Reporting guidelines and ESG reporting template
The Investor Reporting Guidelines describe what private equity managers report to their investors, and the Professional Standards Committee updated them in 2024 on the basis of the 2018 version. The ESG Reporting Guidelines explain how a fund manager reports its approach to sustainability and the main sustainability impacts of each fund. Invest Europe also publishes an ESG Reporting Template with a set of indicators, which it updates for each reporting year.
For valuations, Invest Europe trains its members on the IPEV Valuation Guidelines. These guidelines go back to a joint initiative of the French AFIC, the British BVCA and the EVCA, the former name of Invest Europe.
Upcoming fintech and finance events in Belgium
Investors' Forum and Venture Capital Forum
The Investors' Forum in Geneva is the conference of Invest Europe for limited partners and fund managers, and it began in Zurich as the International Investors' Conference. The Venture Capital Forum brings LPs and GPs in venture capital together once a year to discuss how VC investment develops. With the roadshow Investing in Europe's Quiet Power, Invest Europe presents European buyout, mid-market and venture capital to institutional investors in North America, the Middle East and Asia.
Training courses
The training program of Invest Europe ranges from onboarding courses to specialized classes for private equity practitioners. Courses cover fund administration and accounting, LBO modeling, the AIFMD and EU sustainable finance rules, board practice in portfolio companies and the ELTIF marketing passport. A six-part online AI Training Series explains where AI creates value in the investment lifecycle and where it adds risk.
Chair, board and CEO
Sander Slootweg, managing partner and co-founder of the life sciences investor Forbion, is chair of Invest Europe and succeeded Elias Korosis of Federated Hermes Private Equity. The board of directors draws up to three members from each platform council, and Filippo Cardini of TowerBrook Capital Partners is vice-chair. Eric de Montgolfier is chief executive officer and leads the secretariat of the association.
Offices in Brussels and London
The Brussels office of Invest Europe is at Avenue Louise 81 in 1050 Brussels, and the London office is at 78 Pall Mall in St James's. Invest Europe is listed in the EU Transparency Register and has signed its code of conduct for contacts with the EU institutions.
Invest Europe and Finance Loop
Finance Loop members discuss private market questions that Invest Europe also works on, such as the use of AI in sourcing and assessing deals, and they follow new fund structures such as tokenized private equity. Finance Loop takes up these questions in its Investment & Digital Assets track, at events in Frankfurt and other European cities.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, tokenization, stablecoins, and DeFi. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.