Principal Real Estate Investors has closed its third high-yield private-equity fund with $578.6 million in total commitments. The firm raised capital globally, securing a total of 30 limited partner commitments from a broad spectrum of investment groups and global markets, including the US, Asia and the Middle East.

The fund will offer loans on private real estate transactions, focusing on mezzanine debt, b-notes and senior mortgages as well as construction permanent loans in major US markets. The fund has already committed 37% of its equity in 11 transactions representing a total value of $410 million. Public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and foundations all participated in the fundraise.

Principal's latest fund closing is on trend with a rebound in the private equity markets. Research from Preqin revealed strong optimism for deal values and volumes this year. Despite the upset to the private equity markets—including an extreme slowdown in fundraising, which totaled $118 billion compared to $179 billion in 2019—Preqin's recent investor sentiment survey was relatively positive. It shows 36% of respondents expect to increase allocations over the next 12 months, but one in five survey respondents do expect returns to deteriorate over that same period.