The Initiative for Private Equity Investment Trusts – iPEIT - has been formed to improve awareness and understanding among retail investors,...

The Initiative for Private Equity Investment Trusts – iPEIT - has been formed to improve awareness and understanding among retail investors, smaller institutions and investment managers not already involved in private equity investment, about private equity in general and PEITs in particular.

Even among large institutions which invest in private equity limited partnership funds, this complementary route to the sector has not always been appreciated, it is felt.

iPEIT aims to clarify a number of issues that commonly arise in members’ conversations with investors, including liquidity, net asset value, cash drag and the difference between PEITs and VCTs – a common confusion. iPEIT’s website www.ipeit.com together with links to data and proprietary research shortly to be published, offers explanation and information on all aspects of private equity and PEITs.

iPEIT is a source of information on PEITs, not a promotional vehicle and, accordingly, its aggregated data is based on all 20 UK PEITs, not just those of its ten founding members.

Performance data from the Association of Investment Trust Companies shows PEITs consistently a best performing investment sector over 10 year periods, with average returns in the 10 years to 31 August 2006 of 268 per cent, outperforming the FTSE-All share by some 141 per cent.

iPEIT’s founding members are: August Equity Trust, Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust, Electra Private Equity, Prelude Trust, F&C Private Equity Trust, Graphite Enterprise Trust, Hg Capital Trust, Pantheon International Participations, Rutland Trust and Standard Life European Private Equity Trust.

Peter Linthwaite, British Venture Capital Association chief executive, said: “The BVCA warmly supports this initiative. Private equity has shown a consistent ability to outperform other comparable investments over the medium to long term. This route offers an exciting opportunity to invest in the asset class.”

Daniel Godfrey, Director General of the AITC said: “We’ve encouraged our members to promote their advantages to a wider audience and we fully support this initiative. PEITs allow investors to get into some of the most exciting investment opportunities at the ground floor. iPEIT will help them understand the risks as well as the potential rewards and enable them to make informed decisions.”