Investors have come to see private markets as a cash cow

EVERYONE WHO has an investment portfolio or is in a pension scheme knows that they are exposed to the gyrations of the stockmarket. Only some are aware that a rising share of their savings pot has been invested in private assets, including private equity (leveraged buy-outs), privately held debt and infrastructure and property holdings. And most would be surprised to know how big this exposure has become. Private equity and property alone make up almost a fifth of American public pension funds’ portfolios. A whopping 39% of large American endowments sits in buy-outs, venture capital and real assets. Private assets have become the opium of the savings industry because they are assumed to generate high returns. As our special report this week explains, this belief may be a delusion.