Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?

43 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2011 Last revised: 30 Jul 2013

See all articles by Robert S. Harris

Robert S. Harris

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Tim Jenkinson

University of Oxford - Said Business School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Steven N. Kaplan

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); University of Chicago - Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

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

Harris, Robert S. and Jenkinson, Tim and Kaplan, Steven Neil, Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know? (July 2013). Journal of Finance, Forthcoming, Fama-Miller Working Paper, Chicago Booth Research Paper No. 11-44, Darden Business School Working Paper No. 1932316, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1932316 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1932316

Robert S. Harris

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
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434-924-4823 (Phone)
434-924-4859 (Fax)

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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+44 1865 288831 (Fax)

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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Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org

Steven Neil Kaplan (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
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European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

University of Chicago - Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship

Chicago, IL 60637
United States

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