The majority of private equity investors will have made “at best a market return” between 1980 and 2005, according to research compiled by a London Business School professor.

Chris Higson, professor of accounting at the London Business School, compiled previous findings by academics on global returns from private equity funds from 1980 through to the early 2000s. He said that the research found there was a significant split among private equity investors. While the top 25% of funds outperformed the public markets during this period, the remaining 75% of funds underperformed.