When Public Meets Private: Rethinking the Modern Market

Morningstar

Sanjay Arya, Daniel Cook

Research

12 Pages

Morningstar Indexes introduces the Morningstar PitchBook US Modern Market 100 Index, a benchmark combining 90 public and 10 private companies to capture the full scope of the modern U.S. equity landscape. The report details how private markets have grown to represent nearly 9% of U.S. equity value, reshaping how investors view diversification, innovation, and capital access.

Key Takeaways

Private market surge: Venture-backed firms’ share of U.S. equity market value has risen from 1% in 2000 to 9% in 2025.
Converging capital paths: Over 795 U.S. unicorns worth $1 trillion+ and active secondary markets blur the line between public and private investing.
Index innovation: The Modern Market 100 outperformed the Morningstar U.S. Market Index since 2014 (17.2% vs. 14.1% 5-year CAGR) with lower volatility and greater exposure to frontier sectors like AI and fintech.
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