The Performance of Private Equity: Evidence from Confidential Filings

Whereas prior studies in the literature have presented mixed, and at times conflicting, results due to their use of data voluntarily reported by private equity funds to third-party vendors for the purpose of advertising, this study is the first to overcome these sample bias issues by analyzing comprehensive performance and investment data from the confidential regulatory SEC Form PF filings of US private equity funds. This article uses these novel data to revisit key questions in the literature, such as the comparison of private versus public equity performance, whether private equity returns exhibit economies of scale and scope, and whether leveraged strategies yield risk premiums.