An Empirical Guide to Investor-Level Private Equity Data from Preqin

33 Pages Posted: 18 Feb 2021

See all articles by Juliane Begenau

Juliane Begenau

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Claudia Robles-Garcia

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Emil Siriwardane

Harvard Business School - Finance Unit; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Lulu Wang

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business

Date Written: December 31, 2020

Abstract

This note provides guidance on the use of investor-level private equity data from Preqin for empirical research. Preqin primarily sources its cash flow data through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with U.S. public pensions. Our focus is on the components of these data that are used for calculating returns on investments made by individual public pensions into private market vehicles, most notably private equity. We discuss how accounting practices may impact cash flow variables, document the prevalence of data quality and other measurement error issues, and recommend transparent adjustments that deliver reliable estimates of net-of fee returns that are comparable across investors and time.

Keywords: Private equity returns, Preqin data

JEL Classification: C81

Suggested Citation

Begenau, Juliane and Robles-Garcia, Claudia and Siriwardane, Emil and Wang, Lulu, An Empirical Guide to Investor-Level Private Equity Data from Preqin (December 31, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3764895 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3764895

Juliane Begenau (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States
6507245661 (Phone)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Claudia Robles-Garcia

Stanford Graduate School of Business

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
United States

Emil Siriwardane

Harvard Business School - Finance Unit ( email )

Boston, MA 02163
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Lulu Wang

Stanford University - Graduate School of Business ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, 94305
United States

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