Analysis | Private equity professionals are cautiously optimistic
Private equity investment will remain strong in 2017 as global investors continue to expand into different markets.
Returns may not be as impressive as they were in 2015 and 2016, because general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) are tempering their strategies due to concerns about the impact of increasing regulation, high asset values, and the need to keep their powder dry.
Investors are the most bullish (“very positive”) about private equity performance in the rest of the world (62 per cent) and Asia (57 per cent), compared to North America (54 per cent) and Europe (50 per cent)
During the second half of 2015 and the first half of last year, private equity funds performed above expectation, according to 97 per cent of GPs and 95 per cent of the LPs in Mourant Ozannes’ survey of 260 respondents around the world.
The survey covered 50 GPs (each with a fund exceeding US$200 million) and 20 LPs in each of Asia, North America, Europe, and the rest of the world. Their work spanned private equity, venture capital, and real estate funds.
Of the Asian professionals surveyed, 45 were in China, eight in Hong Kong, and three in Taiwan, comprising in total 80 per cent of Asian respondents.
Looking into 2017, positive sentiment dropped to 88 per cent. Investors are the most bullish (”very positive”) about private equity performance in the rest of the world (62 per cent) and Asia (57 per cent), compared to North America (54 per cent) and Europe (50 per cent).