A Clearer Way to Benchmark Private Equity
Enterprising Investor Blog
May 4, 2026
As private equity continues to play an increasingly important role across both institutional and wealth portfolios, the need for consistent, reliable, and decision‑useful performance measurement is becoming more critical—much as it is in public markets.
Unlike public markets, however, private equity benchmarks are not constructed uniformly. Benchmarks intended to represent the same asset class can differ by 300–500 basis points over identical periods, depending on how underlying data is sourced, defined, and aggregated. These differences are meaningful and can materially influence performance evaluation, reporting, and fiduciary oversight.
A recent article published by the CFA Institute’s Research & Policy Center, written by HarbourVest’s Sofia Gertsberg, provides a clear examination of these issues, outlining why such discrepancies persist and what allocators, fiduciaries, and platforms should consider when assessing the appropriateness of private market benchmarks.
