Australian private equity returned 7.85 percent to investors in 2011, and on a three-year basis returns far outstripped the benchmark Australian stock index, industry data showed.
The Cambridge Associates LLC Australia Private Equity & Venture Capital Index showed the $23 billion Australian private equity sector returned 7.11 percent over the three years to 2011 compared with a 16.8 percent fall for the benchmark.
The index is based on data compiled from 51 Australian private equity and 20 venture capital funds, including fully liquidated partnerships, formed between 1997 and 2011.
"This asset class generates the kind of long-term returns that investors - whether they are superannuation funds, sovereign wealth funds or other wealth management funds - are crying out for today," Katherine Woodthorpe, Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association's chief executive, said in a statement.
Australian pension funds manage $1.4 trillion, largely invested in equity, and are looking at alternative assets given an ageing population and the need for steady income for soon-to-be pensioners.
This article is copyrighted by Reuters
Join the Conversation