U.S. private equity investments outperformed the stock market in 2011 and distributions to investors reached a record as fund managers seized on an opportunity to sell long-held assets, reports market research firm Cambridge Associates.

The European debt crisis and a rising U.S. dollar tamped down returns on alternative investments outside the United States during the third quarter of 2011. Private equity and venture capital funds investing in developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. posted a loss for the period, Cambridge Associates said in a press release. The release [...]

Groupon-backer BV Capital has an opening for an associate in their San Francisco office.

Last year’s volatile financial markets have begun to hurt short-term venture returns. No surprise in that. Long-term returns so far remain untouched. Third-quarter returns slipped into negative territory and one-year returns retreated from a mid-year peak, according to data released Wednesday by Cambridge Associates and the National Venture Capital Association. Meanwhile, 10-year returns rose, as [...]

Private equity and venture capital funds investing in non-US developed markets continued to outperform those targeting emerging markets, according to Q2 2011 Cambridge Associates benchmarks. And both asset classes generated better returns than their public market counterparts, according to Cambridge Associates. PRESS RELEASE Funds providing private investment capital to companies located largely outside the U.S. [...]

Last week, I was doing some research in preparation for a panel at our Buyouts Texas conference on the ever-exciting topic of private equity benchmarking. Surprisingly, it was an eye-opening experience. I say this because I had been under the impression that only one in four firms could justifiably claim a slot in the top [...]

Here is the what-if you’ve all been waiting for. Venture returns improved through the first half of the year on the wings of a better exit environment, especially for IPOs, a new report finds. If only the improvement in the exit markets had continued. Venture returns across all time periods — except the 15-year period [...]

The land down under is on top. Venture capital performance continues at an impressive pace in Australia, according to Cambridge Associates and the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Annualized one-year returns as of the end of March were 7.7% and five-year return were 4.8%. While three-year performance lagged at 1.5%, no surprise given [...]

Venture capital long-term fund performance edged up in the first quarter of the year even as short-term returns suffered. Private equity saw a similar slide in short-term returns in the first quarter. But 10-year performance was a solid 10.8%. This assessment from Cambridge Associates Wednesday morning obviously did not factor in the present-day public market [...]

Venture returns are improving, but it’s still too early to say we’ve seen the last of poor industry performance. With the exception of the 15-year returns, which declined slightly, venture capital performance improved across all time horizons from the end of Q3 to the end of Q4 2010, according to Cambridge Associates and the National [...]