@article {Scarpati8, author = {Fernando Scarpati and Wilson Ng}, title = {What Really Drives Risk Premium and Abnormal Returnsin Private Equity Funds? A New Perspective }, volume = {16}, number = {4}, pages = {8--20}, year = {2013}, doi = {10.3905/jpe.2013.16.4.008}, publisher = {Institutional Investor Journals Umbrella}, abstract = {Private equity (PE) scholars have attempted to assess the ex post returns (performance) of PE funds. Such studies have produced both contradictory conclusions and abnormal realized returns ranging from {\textendash}6\% (Phalippou and Gottschalg [2009]) to +32\% (Cochrane [2005]). Research has focused on assessing realized returns instead of the required risk premium. This research has found a set of phenomena unique to the PE sector that influences performance and suggests that illiquidity is the only additional factor to include in asset pricing models. This article explains the drivers and determinants of the risk premium and expected abnormal returns by critiquing extant research and explaining why contradictions persist in its results. A model is proposed enabling practitioners to adopt a more rational approach to defining portfolios and assessing deals.TOPICS: Private equity, analysis of individual factors/risk premia, portfolio construction, factor-based models}, issn = {1096-5572}, URL = {https://jpe.pm-research.com/content/16/4/8}, eprint = {https://jpe.pm-research.com/content/16/4/8.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Private Equity (Retired)} }