UK private equity records double the returns of pension funds, FTSE: survey

[LONDON] British private equity has made almost double the returns of UK pension fund assets and the FTSE All-Share in the past decade, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Private equity and venture capital funds saw a combined 10-year internal rate of return (IRR) of 14.9 per cent in 2014, according to the survey conducted by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA).

That was nearly double the 7.8 per cent returned by UK pension fund assets, and the 7.6 per cent returned by the FTSE All-Share.

The internal rate of return measures the rate of an asset's growth across a number of years.

However the figures were less impressive across a five-year period, when funds struggling with the fall-out from the financial crisis recorded returns of 11.5 per cent. That compared to 9.4 per cent for UK pension funds and 8.7 per cent in the FTSE All-Share.

The survey was produced in association with PwC and Capital Dynamics.

REUTERS