According to Dow Jones LP Source, limited partners showed less support for U.S. and Europe private equity funds in the latter half of 2012, leading to an overall yearly decline in funds raised for both regions.

In 2012, private equity firms raised 426 U.S. funds, a 6% decrease from the 453 funds raised in 2011. Despite this drop, U.S. private equity funds had a positive year overall, netting $160.4 billion, the most raised since 2008 and a 20% increase from the $133.2 billion raised last year.

“Some of the largest firms re-entered the fundraising fray in 2012, which drove up overall volume in the U.S. during the year,” said Laura Kreutzer, editor of Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. “But the numbers are deceiving — many firms struggled to reach their targets and will probably continue to do so as more firms market new funds in 2013.”

European private equity funds performed worse in 2012, raising $58.1 billion across 157 funds, a 14% drop from 2011 when 182 funds garnered $59.2 billion.

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