Chart of the Week: U.S. buyout firms overwhelm venture capital, real estate in assets under management

Although the AUM for all three asset classes shown in the chart below increased each year, the buyout market is far ahead of the curve, remaining very strong in the wake of the recession thanks to consistently strong risk-adjusted returns generated for institutional investors.  Venture firms, by contrast, have struggled to regain their pre-Internet-bubble glory days, although returns and fundraising haveas both been making a comeback.