Testing the efficiency of globally listed private equity markets

This study is the first to investigate the efficient market hypothesis in its weak form and the random walk behaviour of globally listed private equity (LPE) markets represented by nine global, regional, and style indices based on weekly data covering the period from January 2004 to December 2020. Autocorrelation tests, variance ratio tests, and a non-parametric runs test are employed. The results of the autocorrelation tests and the variance ratio tests tend to correspond for all indices, and they reject the random walk hypothesis for the returns of all LPE indices under investigation. In contrast, the runs test for direct weak-form market efficiency cannot reject the null hypothesis of a random walk process for almost all LPE indices under investigation. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the market efficiency of globally listed private equity markets has improved after the global financial crisis. Due to the fact that the rapidly growing asset class of LPE as a form of private equity is still relatively unknown, the implications of the results of our paper are relevant for investors, policy makers, and academics alike. In addition, the results provide valuable insights to better understand the emerging asset class of LPE.