Following the massive pandemic shock-driven correction in the first quarter of 2020, the following 12 months (Q2 2020 – Q1 2021) brought a persistent recovery and further growth to the global Buyout and VC markets.
That’s according to latest Quarterly Private Equity Performance Overview, covering the period to the end of Q1 2021, from eFront, a financial software and solutions provider dedicated to alternative investments.
In the first quarter of this year, VC funds have globally generated a quarterly return of 12.9 per cent, while the Buyout funds produced 9.6 per cent over the same period.
This evolution in private equity markets significantly drifts away from the previous decade’s pattern where we recorded quarterly returns oscillating within the +/-5 per cent band. North American Funds over-performed in the LBO market in Q1 2021, while European VC funds produced the largest relative returns among the regions.
The new edition of the eFront Insight Research Quarterly Report presents two sets of performance metrics. The first is based on the fund level transaction data sourced directly from limited partners who report on the capital calls and distributions paid in and received from the GP managers they are invested with. Transaction data allows the direct calculation of the net-of-fees performance averaged out across the selection of funds.
The second set of performance metrics leverages the deal-level data sourced from GP managers who report to their investors on portfolio deal characteristics and financials on a quarterly basis. This rich and granular dataset enables a thorough breakdown of performance figures across regions and industry sectors. All the reported performance metrics in the second part are presented on a gross-of-fees basis.
