U.S. private equity and venture capital funds outperformed public equity in the first half of 2014, said a report from Cambridge Associates.
The Cambridge Associates U.S. Private Equity index returned 8.9% in the first half of 2014, 80 basis points higher than the firm's venture capital index at 8.1%, and 180 basis points higher than the S&P 500 index at 7.1%.
In the second quarter of 2014, the private equity index returned 5.7%, compared to 3% for venture capital and 5.2% for the S&P 500.
Of the seven large private equity sectors, energy led the way with a 9.4% return in the second quarter. Consumer companies recorded the lowest return at 3.7%.
Fund managers in the private equity index called $22 billion from their limited partners in the second quarter and distributed $39.7 billion, up 27.6% and 5.6%, respectively, from the first quarter.
