- Exit uplifts can help investors gauge a private equity manager’s track record
- Valuations in venture capital can swing significantly
- Infrastructure cash flows are predictable but valuations rely on a number of assumptions
The valuations of private assets have increasingly come under scrutiny in the past two years, as inflation and higher interest rates sent listed company values on a rollercoaster but left the likes of private equity relatively untouched.
Private investors typically get exposure to private assets through investment trusts. Since 2022, discounts to net asset value (NAV) have been especially high for trusts investing in unlisted assets, hinting at a degree of mistrust over the underlying valuations, as well as low demand for the shares.