Preqin has entered a partnership with the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA), under eligibility from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to produce performance benchmarks for alternative investment funds (AIFs) as an official benchmarking agency.
AIFs in India – classified as CAT I, II or III – operate across a wide range of asset classes including private equity & venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, private debt, and hedge funds. With a total of more than 730 such funds currently, they represent a part of the alternative investments ecosystem that is growing and becoming increasingly important in APAC and the wider world. Indeed, India’s AIF industry has grown quickly from USD35.5 billion at the end of 2016 to USD60.5 billion by December 2020 – an increase of more than 70 per cent in total commitments for SEBI registered funds alone.
These benchmarks will provide a top-level overview on a range of indicators such as IRR, called capital, DPI, and RVPI on the predominant strategies that are employed by domestic managers. Such data is crucial for investors conducting portfolio analysis and due diligence, while managers rely on this for performance benchmarking and reporting.
The Preqin research team will be reaching out to managers of AIFs from 11 October 2021 to 10 December 2021 to collect performance data and we expect the benchmarks to be made available in the H1 2022. We look forward to speaking to industry stakeholders and playing a key part in the continued growth of India’s AIF market.
Ee Fai Kam, Head of Asia Research & Operations, says: “Preqin has been at the forefront of performance measurement and benchmarking since day one, this partnership with IVCA – the top industry body for alternative investments in India – will provide market participants with a deeper understanding of returns and how India compares with other countries and regions. My team and I are very pleased to be a part of this exciting development in the Indian alternative investments space. This represents another milestone in the coming-of-age of APAC and the maturing conversation around fund performance and transparency in this region.”
Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds and Senior Board Member, IVCA, says: “The performance benchmarking of AIFs represents a global best practice by SEBI. It is a great step ahead for the Indian AIF ecosystem as it brings much-needed transparency on the performance metrics to increase the flow of domestic capital. The idea is to create benchmarks with excellent domestic and global agencies conducting the exercise. IVCA is pleased to be associated with Preqin and look forward to working with them to bring in their global standards to this process. AIFs and investors will see a lot of value with Preqin also coming in as a benchmarking agency, bringing with them global best practices.”
