Download This PaperPrivate Equity Performance: What Do We Know?
43 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2011 Last revised: 30 Jul 2013
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Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?
Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?
Date Written: July 2013
Abstract
We study the performance of nearly 1400 U.S. buyout and venture capital funds using a new dataset from Burgiss. We find better buyout fund performance than has previously been documented – performance consistently has exceeded that of public markets. Outperformance versus the S&P 500 averages 20% to 27% over a fund’s life and more than 3% annually. Venture capital funds outperformed public equities in the 1990s, but underperformed in the 2000s. Our conclusions are robust to various indices and risk controls. Performance in Cambridge Associates and Preqin is qualitatively similar to that in Burgiss, but is lower in Thomson Venture Economics.
Keywords: Private Equity, Venture Capital
JEL Classification: G2, G11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Robert S. Harris
University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )
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Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
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HOME PAGE: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/faculty/harris.htm
Tim Jenkinson
University of Oxford - Said Business School ( email )
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Oxford, OX1 1HP
United Kingdom
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HOME PAGE: http://www.sbs.oxford.edu/timjenkinson
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )
c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
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1000 Brussels
Belgium
HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org
Steven Neil Kaplan (Contact Author)
University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )
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Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-702-4513 (Phone)
773-702-0458 (Fax)
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )
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