Department of Economics

In this paper we build an index of value for venture capital. Our approach overcomes the problems of intermittent, infrequent pricing of private company deals by using a repeat valuation model to build the index, and it corrects for selection bias in the reporting of values. We use a unique data set from Sand Hill Econometrics. The index measures the return and risk for venture capital. Its covariance with other asset classes from 1987-1999 enables us to explore the role of venture capital in diversified portfolios during a period of increased importance of venture capital in the economy.