"Fund-raising data for the 2014 financial year showed that sovereign wealth funds, for the first time, overtook superannuation and pension funds and fund-of-funds as the largest single source of new commitments into the industry," said Yasser El-Ansary, the chief executive of industry group AVCAL.

Mr Al-Ansary made the comments as AVCAL released its 2014 yearbook, produced in partnership with Ernst & Young.

It was a busy year for the private equity and venture capital industry in terms of fund-raising and exits, meaning the pace of new investment is likely to ratchet up a notch in this financial year.

About $933 million was raised by PE funds last financial year, up 30 per cent on FY2013, largely boosted by Quadrant Private Equity's new $850 million Fund No. 4. However, the number of PE funds successfully raising new commitments was only seven compared to 10 the previous year.

Fiscal year 2014 was the most active for private equity disposals since the market effectively closed in the global financial crisis six years earlier.

"The year featured a record-setting 12 PE-backed initial public offerings, marking the most active year for listed market exits in recent history in Australia," Mr El-Ansary said.

As of June 30, Pacific Equity Partners' float of Veda Group was the best performing new listing for the financial year, trading 58 per cent above its offer price.

Other listings to come out of private equity exits highlighted for their strong performance post-IPO included OzForex, iSentia, and Burson Auto Parts.

While fundraising and divestment activity increased, much of that money is yet to be re-deployed as new investments over fiscal 2014 fell 28 per cent to $1.96 billion. The number of individual companies that received private equity backing was down slightly from 67 in fiscal 2013 to 64.

Just as ASX investors have flocked to a flurry of new listings from early-stage technology companies over the past year, venture capital fund managers are also showing a preference for investments that have exposure to trends in mobile data, online commerce, and cloud computing.

Total PE and VC investment activity fell to $2.47 billion last financial year, down 13 per cent on FY2013, as fewer domestic PE managers made new investments.

"However, a greater number of VC managers were actively investing compared to previous years, especially concentrated around early stage businesses within the information and communications technology sector," Mr El-Ansary said.

One encouraging trend was an uptick in foreign private equity flowing into Australia. Inbound investment rose 45 per cent on the previous year to almost $1.2 billion, Mr El-Ansary said.

"Increased activity by foreign firms, including US-based Platinum Equity acquiring a stake in Sensis, saw inbound investment rise to almost $1.2 billion for PE and VC combined, up 45 per cent on the previous year".

Another highlight was the $US250 million investment by US-based Insight Venture Partners in Campaign Monitor, which represents the largest ever single VC investment in an Australian technology company.

The proportion of commitments flowing from domestic investors continued to decline, now accounting for 54 per cent of all new commitments to Australian PE and VC funds - down from 58 per cent in fiscal 2013.