Buyout groups are taking it in faster than they are spending it.

Firms are raising more cash than ever, but the pace of their outlays has slowed to levels not seen since the financial crash of 2008, according to data cited by FT.com.

This trend comes despite blockbuster deals like Blackstone’s acquisition of a piece of Thomson Reuters for $20 billion earlier this year.

Firms spent only 1 percent of their capital in the last three months of 2017, as opposed to 5 percent during the boom preceding the crash, the data show.

Blackstone’s deal for the Thomson Reuters unit was its biggest bet since the financial crisis. In March, Carlyle acquired Akzo Nobel’s specialty chemicals unit for $12.5 billion, and Carlyle closed an $18.5 billion fund late last month.