Listed private equity has not been a great bet for the past few years. A £100 investment in the LPX Europe, an index that tracks European listed private equity firms, in 2008 would now be worth a mere £118. Compare that to the FTSE All-Share index over the same period, where the same investment would be worth over £150.

To make matters worse, prospective shareholders do not seem to trust the sector. Listed private equity firms have been trading at a large discount to their own portfolio valuations since 2008. Overall average share price discounts to net asset value - a key indicator of portfolio worth - has stood at about 30% for much of the past five years.