This data set is currently available on a limited basis. To access Venn Daily Private Asset Returns, please reach out to your Client Solutions representative. Additional fees apply.
What are Venn Daily Private Asset Returns?
Constructing a time series for private capital is challenging due to inherent limitations in private asset data – unlike publicly traded securities with continuous mark-to-market valuations, private assets are infrequently valued. Even when reported quarterly, these valuations often fail to reflect current market and economic conditions, making it difficult to geometrically link returns into a true time-weighted return (TWR).
Venn Daily Private Asset Returns (Venn DPARs) are return streams modeled using the cash flow data of private asset funds in a given classification cohort and a public market proxy. These returns can be used in portfolios, as proxies (e.g. substitute or backfill), or analyzed on a standalone basis, just like any other return stream available in Venn.
Venn Daily Private Asset Returns can be found in the Data Library by using the “Asset Type” filter, and can be searched by name to add to portfolios or analyses.
How are Venn Daily Private Asset Returns calculated?
Venn Daily Private Asset Returns are calculated by estimating the outperformance (alpha) and exposure (beta) to a given public proxy using the “NPV Methodology”:
Step 1: Identify the fund cohort determined by the funds’ classifications (asset class, strategy, and vintage) [1]
Step 2: Select a public proxy that best represents the cohort
Step 3: Find the optimal alpha and beta that, when applied to public proxy returns to discount each fund's cash flows, bring the sum of individual fund NPVs closest to zero
Step 4: Construct the daily time-weighted-returns for the cohort by adjusting the public proxy returns by the estimated alpha and beta, such that [2]:
For each cohort, Venn runs data quality checks to include only funds with accurate, consistent, and robust data. Funds with vintage years prior to 1990 are excluded given private market investments and reporting were less standardized at the time. Furthermore, we currently consider funds with USD cash flows.
VDPARs are re-calculated on a quarterly basis and are subject to change.
Which classifications/cohorts are Venn Daily Private Asset Returns available for?
As of December 2025, a total of 214 Venn Daily Private Asset Returns are available for various vintage, asset class, and strategy classifications. To ensure statistical robustness, Venn Daily Private Asset Returns are only available for cohorts with more than 40 funds that meet the data quality requirements.
Vintage-specific Venn DPARs are time series of returns that are the best option to model a specific vintage year, given data availability and Venn’s methodology. To compute a vintage-specific Venn DPAR, Venn requires at least 40 funds for the target vintage year. If fewer than 40 are available, funds from up to five earlier vintages are added until the minimum is met. If data from even more vintages are needed, we ensure that at least 20% comes from the target vintage year. If data constraints prevent a vintage year from being available, users can use any vintage year they wish, including the previous/next vintage year available, or the “All Vintages” version.
For Venn Daily Private Asset Returns classified as “All Vintages,” Venn uses all funds in the given asset class and strategy across all available vintage years. Similarly, for returns classified as “All Strategies,” Venn uses all funds in the given asset class and vintage year across all strategies. For example, if you are looking for a daily return stream that represents the Private Debt Direct Lending strategy generally but not specific to a vintage year, you could use “All Vintages Private Debt Direct Lending”.
Note that the available list of Venn Daily Private Asset Returns are subject to change.
Which public proxies are used?
Public proxies are chosen based on private asset classifications and public proxy data availability:
Asset Class | Public Proxy |
Infrastructure | SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF |
Natural Resources | Before 2006: iShares Global Energy ETF
2006 - 2007: 50% iShares Global Energy ETF 50% State Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF
After 2007: 33% iShares Global Energy ETF 33% State Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF 33% Invesco DB Agriculture |
Private Debt | Before 2008: Pimco High Yield Instl
After 2008: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF |
Private Equity | Morningstar Global Markets Net Return Local Index |
Real Estate | State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF |
Venture Capital | Fidelity Nasdaq Composite ETF |
Why can't I just use a funds' IRR?
IRRs cannot be used for Venn’s returns-based analyses for two structural reasons:
IRR is a summary metric, not a temporal one
IRR entangles the timing of capital deployment with actual asset performance, making it difficult to isolate manager skill from cash flow scheduling
What is the difference between Venn Daily Private Asset Returns and private asset indices?
The table below outlines some differences between other private asset indices compared to the Venns Daily Private Asset Returns:
Venn Daily Private Asset Returns | Private Asset Indices |
Daily frequency | Quarterly frequency |
Does not require interpolation, desmoothing and/or extrapolation | Requires interpolation, desmoothing and/or extrapolation for certain analyses |
Available for classification cohorts specific to certain vintages (higher granularity) | Available for general asset classes and strategies |
Engineered returns calculated using cohort cash flow data and a public market proxy (Cash Flow-Based) | Typically calculated using change in NAVs adjusted by cash flows (Appraisal-Based) |
What are some use cases for Venn DPARs?
Venn Daily Private Asset Returns serve as an additional source of returns data that can be used to represent and understand private markets. Some common uses cases for Venn Daily Private Asset Returns include:
To represent private asset allocations in portfolios
As a returns proxy for private asset funds with insufficient and/or infrequent returns
As a private asset benchmark
To understand what risks certain private asset cohorts are exposed to through Venn’s factor lens
What are some limitations of Venn DPARs?
Venn DPARs aim to model the behavior of the private asset classification cohort (the “beta”), not specific manager skills. Private asset funds, even within the same classification, have large performance dispersions. If a manager takes concentrated positions that deviate significantly from the cohort mean, Venn DPARs will show a larger tracking error.
Furthermore, there are limitations in converting quarterly data to a daily series – in extreme market dislocations where the public and private asset correlations temporarily break (de-coupling), the model may over- or under-estimate short-term volatility.
Note, Venn generates daily returns to measure risks in the asset classes, but this does not imply daily liquidity.
[1] Data source: Preqin. Preqin Ltd. Copyright 2025 Preqin Ltd. All rights reserved.
[2] Since alpha is estimated using quarterly cash flows, it is converted to a daily value to calculate the daily private asset returns
Venn Daily Private Asset Returns use historical data and relationships to make estimates. These estimates will not always predict future results and have inherent limitations.
This document highlights certain aspects of this feature. As an overview, it does not discuss all material facts or assumptions. Please see Important Disclosure and Disclaimer Information.