The private equity industry has been giddy abut the prospects for portfolio company exits this year. Blackstone has plans for up to eight IPOs and several sales. But the other side of the success equation has generated less enthusiasm. The Financial Times reports that fund raising is getting harder for even the top private equity firms.

Signs of this are everywhere. Ripplewood Holdings "has effectively been out of the market for a year, after suspending plans to raise a new $2.5 billion fund a year ago in the face of troubles in its portfolio, including the bankruptcy of Readers Digest magazine." And Blackstone "has seen its new fund stuck for months on about $8 billion to $9 billion, well below its previous $21 billion fund." In Europe , other funds are likewise having trouble. Stay tuned. Lots of firms are set to test the waters as they reach out to institutions for funding.   

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