JOURNAL ARTICLE

Apples and Oranges: Benchmarking Games and the Illusion of Private Equity Outperformance.

  • Published In: Journal of Private Markets Investing, 2026, v. 24, n. 2. P. 28 1 of 3

  • Database: Business Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Phalippou, Ludovic 3 of 3

Abstract

Private equity (PE) is widely viewed as an asset class delivering superior returns compared to public equity markets. A review of the latest data (as of June 2025) suggests that prior findings (Phalippou 2014, 2020) still hold. The performance of private equity is broadly in line with public markets in the US and probably in Europe. There is little controversy about fund performance per se; disagreements stem from how benchmarks are chosen and how data is filtered. These findings raise fundamental questions about benchmarking standards, value creation, and the justification of high fees in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal of Private Markets Investing. 2026/01, Vol. 24, Issue 2, p28
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:3069-5864
  • DOI:10.3905/jpmi.2025.1.008
  • Accession Number:190956408
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Journal of Private Markets Investing is the property of With Intelligence Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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