DFX Intelligence vs Preqin
Preqin is an alternative assets data company, part of BlackRock since 2025, covering private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, real estate, private credit, infrastructure, secondaries and natural resources.[1][2] DFX Intelligence is a private-market intelligence and data company whose Data Factory resolves US public filings and registries into one graph of firms, funds, companies, people and dated events, with a source and a date on every fact.
The main difference is breadth and history against provenance: Preqin covers eight alternative asset classes, including fund performance and terms, and says it has collected private markets data for over 20 years, while DFX publishes a narrower US public-record graph with a source and date on every fact and no fund returns.[1]
Facts about Preqin as of , each linked to its source below. DFX currently tracks 7,638 private equity firms, 8,224 institutional allocators and 2,362 private credit firms, as of 10 October 2026.
Side by side
Preqin comes out ahead on 4 of the 7 rows below. We say so because a comparison written by one side is only worth reading if it is willing to lose.
| Criterion | DFX Intelligence | Preqin | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset classes | No hedge fund, infrastructure or natural resources dataset. method | Private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, real estate, private credit, infrastructure, secondaries and natural resources.[1] | Preqin |
| Years of history | Filing histories reach back to 2011 for Form ADV; DFX itself is a newer company. method | Says it has collected private markets data for over 20 years; it launched as Private Equity Intelligence in 2003.[1][2] | Preqin |
| Fund performance and terms | No fund return, IRR or multiple is published. method | Covers fund performance and fund terms, with products for benchmarks, indices and LPA terms.[1] | Preqin |
| Public profile pages | Public firm, fund and allocator pages with dated facts and the source of each. method | Public profiles are previews: the full profile and underlying data need a Preqin Pro subscription.[3] | Even |
| RIAs, independent sponsors, BDC positions | RIAs, independent sponsors and BDC schedules of investments are datasets of their own. method | Its home page lists eight asset classes and investors, funds, fund performance, fund terms and service providers; RIAs and independent sponsors are not listed as datasets.[1] | DFX |
| Ownership | Independent: the operating brand of Deal Flow Xchange Inc. method | A subsidiary of BlackRock since 2025.[2][1] | Even |
| Data delivery and AI | A real estate MCP server and an llms.txt index for AI assistants; the other graphs are read through the public pages. No CRM sync or bulk feed is published. method | Preqin MCP for AI workflows, and enterprise data delivery.[1] | Preqin |
Who Preqin is for
Preqin names fund managers, investors, investment consultants, banks, placement agents and academic institutions as its users, and says 200,000+ professionals rely on its products.[1]
Who DFX Intelligence is for
Choose DFX if you work the US market from the public record and want the filing behind each figure: RIAs by CRD, independent sponsors, BDC positions and pension commitments read from board minutes, with headline counts free to read and cite.
How DFX sources its data
- SEC Form ADV filings since 2011 and the daily IAPD adviser feeds, for investment advisers, their private funds, owners and registered advisers. Method
- SEC Form D notices, for private fund offerings and venture rounds. Method
- SEC Form 13F holdings, read as long positions in 13(f) securities and never as a portfolio or as assets under management. Method
- Business development company 10-Q and 10-K schedules of investments, read position by position. Method
- Public pension board and investment committee minutes, for dated fund commitments, each carrying the sentence that states it. Method
Every registered source is listed on the sources page. The figures DFX publishes are on the statistics page (for example this one), and each dataset, with how to cite it, is on the datasets page.
Sources for the Preqin column
- Preqin home page (page title: Alternative Assets Data, Solutions and Insights | Preqin | BlackRock), read 10 October 2026.
- Preqin, Wikipedia, read 10 October 2026.
- Preqin public profile page: Irving Place Capital, read 10 October 2026.
Every statement about Preqin on this page comes from the sources above, read on the dates shown. We do not state prices, ratings or judgements about another company's data. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.