US Q2 performance down

Short term US private equity performance continued to deteriorate in Q2 2002, according to research undertaken by Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association. For the period ending June 30, 2002 one year returns for all US private equity and venture capital funds were 16.5 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively, compared to 13.7 per cent and 23.8 per cent for the period ending March 31, 2002.

(See table below for full picture.)

Jesse Reyes, vice president of Thomson Financial Venture Economics, says: “We continue to see the dual effects of lack of liquidity in the public markets and lowered valuation expectations. These results are not surprising given the continued erosion of the public markets performance which continues to drive valuations down and delay exits.”