LONDON, May 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Preqin, the global leader in alternative assets data, tools, and insights, and the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), launched its latest performance benchmark for India’s category I, II, and III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)*. The ongoing relationship between Preqin and the IVCA will bring greater transparency to alternative assets funds’ performance within the region. Owing to this performance benchmark for India’s AIFs, fund managers can, with better accuracy, compare their performance against competitors at an aggregate level, while investors can analyze funds’ performance and gain valuable insight into a manager’s track record.
The continued growth in India-focused alternative assets-under-management (AUM) makes the need to have access to timely data of greater importance, supporting performance benchmarking analysis, as competition in the market increases. This view is supported by Preqin data showing how India-focused private capital (excluding hedge funds) AUM has doubled in five years to $127.1bn, as per the latest figures available from September 2023**. As a result, a greater number of funds and fund managers will likely be allocating in India over the coming years. Preqin insights show that this trend is set to continue as 48% of surveyed alternative investors see India as the most promising emerging market, compared to 36% saying so in 2022***.
Fabien Chen, Global Head of Benchmarks at Preqin, says, “The latest iteration of this benchmark, with an expanded number of funds underpinning it, is helping domestic India-based managers gain insights into their fund performance while giving global investors transparency in AIF’s performance. As private capital assets-under-management continues to show strong growth and attract more foreign capital, alongside the IVCA and Securities and Exchange Board of India, we’re proud to bring greater clarity to funds’ performance.”
The expanded coverage of the Preqin and IVCA benchmark
The latest iteration of the performance benchmark, under eligibility of the SEBI, covers 474 schemes – a 35% increase year-on-year from 2023’s 351 schemes.
The benchmark utilizes the latest performance data available, as reported directly to Preqin by fund managers. Fund-level data is not disclosed, as agreed with the IVCA, SEBI, and the constituent fund managers to protect confidentiality.
Certain AIF categories continue to outperform India’s public market returns
Category I AIFs are mostly venture capital funds, which Preqin highlights as a key asset class to the Indian alternative assets space due to the country’s growing start-up scene. Category I AIFs continue to outperform the Indian public market index, MSCI India TR, as of September 2023 – a trend continuing from 2022. Category I AIFs, which comprises venture capital, social venture, and SME funds, held up well in comparison with global venture capital funds. Returns for Category I AIFs dipped 3.2% since March 2022 while global VC suffered a decline of 21%. Venture capital remains the best-performing asset class, returning a median net Internal Rate of Return of 21.6% for India-focused funds with vintages between 2013 and 2020.
Preqin benchmarks
With private markets being a historically opaque industry, fund and asset-level performance analysis and benchmarking continue to be a challenge for market professionals. This is where Preqin’s private market capital benchmarks make the difference by giving investors, fund managers, and service providers access to independent, reliable, timely, and transparent performance data. Preqin offers one of the world's largest selections of alternatives benchmarks, with over 100,000 available that span 40-plus years of performance data. To learn more about Preqin’s benchmarks, click here.
Notes to editors:
*Those registered with the SEBI. Category I and II funds are eligible for benchmarking if the scheme has completed one year from its close, up to September 2023. Angel funds and schemes without transactions are excluded. Category III and open-ended PIPE funds are eligible for benchmarking if they were launched prior to September 2023.
**Preqin publishes performance data with a six-month lag to collect as much information as possible and so ensure accuracy.
***Findings from Preqin’s November 2023 investor survey, as referenced in Preqin’s Investor Outlook: H1 2024 report. Alternatives investors globally were asked ‘which emerging markets present the best opportunities?’.
If you would like more information or have any questions, please get in touch with Oliver Keyser, oliver.keyser@preqin.com.
About Preqin
Preqin, the Home of Alternatives™, empowers financial professionals who invest in or allocate to alternatives with essential data and insight to make confident decisions. It supports them throughout the entire investment lifecycle with critical information and leading analytics solutions. The company has pioneered rigorous methods of collecting private data for 20 years, enabling more than 200,000 professionals globally to streamline how they raise capital, source deals and investments, understand performance, and stay informed. For more information visit www.preqin.com.
