Half of All VCs Beat the Stock Market

May 5, 2021

In a recent blog entry, Fred Wilson, the influential founder of Union Square Ventures, comments about the latest research fueled by Burgiss data:

“There has been this narrative about investing in VC funds that you have to get into the top quartile (25%) or possibly the top decile (10%) in order to generate good returns. I have heard that for as long as I have been in VC and probably have written it here a few times….Well, it turns out that is not right. Half of all venture funds outperform the stock market which is the benchmark most institutions measure VC funds against.“

Burgiss data is central to the latest working paper from Harris, Jenkinson, Kaplan and Stucke: Has Persistence Persisted in Private Equity? Evidence from Buyout and Venture Capital Funds. Get it here.