Private equity investment trusts have seen extreme gaps emerge between the valuations that managers attach to the illiquid assets in these listed vehicles and the prices that investors are ready to pay.
The divergence has raised questions over whether trust managers are taking an overly optimistic view of their prospects amid a weak outlook for economic growth and high inflation, or investors are missing out on possible bargains if bad news is already priced in.
Private equity managers thus far have made only modest adjustments to the valuations of the illiquid assets which they own, even though the share prices of companies listed in broader public markets trade far below their peak levels.