Is It Now Growth at Any Price?
In private investing, it appears that way, but a deeper look suggests there could be a method to the valuation madness.
Private Equity/Venture Capital
Review of Market Performance: Calendar Year 2020
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused steep declines in risk markets in first quarter 2020. Safe-haven assets, such as core sovereign bonds and gold, performed strongly during this period and have held on to much of their gains. Large-scale intervention by both monetary and fiscal authorities eventually put a floor under risk markets, driving rapid recoveries and pushing equity markets to new highs.
Private Company Operating Metrics: Global Analysis
Analyzing operating metrics can provide insights into the process by which private equity managers execute their strategy. This update to our annual report includes comparisons of private equity globally (roughly 9,600 companies in total) with public peers, as well as regional comparisons for approximately 5,000 US-based companies, more than 2,400 European companies, and more than 1,600 Asian companies acquired by PE firms from 2000 through 2019.
Global ex US PE/VC Benchmark Commentary: First Half 2020
The Cambridge Associates LLC Developed Markets ex US Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) Index returned -1.5% in first half 2020 in USD terms after suffering significant losses (-10.8%) from the onset of COVID-19 in first quarter. The Cambridge Associates LLC Emerging Markets Private Equity and Venture Capital Index earned 4.7% due to a strong second quarter recovery of 11.4% and a modest pandemic-driven downturn earlier in the year.
US PE/VC Benchmark Commentary: First Half 2020
First half 2020 was downright Dickensian (as in a “tale of two quarters”); first quarter returns were down as the COVID-19 pandemic began to close economies, while second quarter performance was strongly positive as public and private investments rebounded.
Under the Microscope: Private vs Public Company Operating Metrics for US Companies
The 2020 Under the Microscope analysis highlights US PE industry trends leading into the COVID-19 crisis. The analyses indicate that 2019 was in many ways a continuation of the cycle of elevated acquisition and leverage multiples, with PE-backed companies showing sustained revenue and EBITDA growth.
Global ex US PE and VC Benchmark Commentary: Calendar Year 2019
With few exceptions heading into the COVID-19 crisis, the developed and emerging markets PE and VC indexes have handily outperformed their public market counterparts across time.
Review of Market Performance: Fiscal Year 2020
While US-China tensions began to slowly de-escalate in the the first half of FY 2020, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second half upended the investment landscape. Gold and US Treasuries were the big winners as investors rushed into safe havens, while central banks cut rates and expanded QE programs. Equities have mounted a remarkable comeback, while real assets generally remain quite depressed. This chart book presents returns and other market metrics for fiscal year 2020.
US PE/VC Benchmark Commentary: Calendar Year 2019
For calendar year 2019, US private equity and venture capital produced high double-digit returns, as indicated by the Cambridge Associates LLC benchmark indexes.
Are Retail Investors the Vanguard of Private Equity?
Yes, and they have been for some time. Progress has been slow, but current market and regulatory conditions could enable a breakthrough. The impact will be felt primarily in the upper registers of the private equity arena. I’m viewing Vanguard’s recent private equity–related announcement as the first of a two-step process. The first step is…