The 2023 Private Capital Markets Report has a “plethora of good information,” says Jim Hitchner (Financial Valuation Advisors) in the May issue of Hardball With Hitchner. The report, from Pepperdine University, is the latest edition based on an annual survey of expected rates of return with respect to private companies. Respondents include lenders, private equity, venture capital firms, private-company owners, business brokers, business appraisers, and more. According to very early results in BVR’s Benchmarking Survey, 27% of respondents say they use the report for estimating small private-company cost of capital.

His caveat: While Hitchner goes into detail about the “positive pointers” of the report, he cautions users that some of the sample sizes are small and the sizes of the businesses also tend to be small. He advises analysts not to use the report as their sole valuation method.

Last year, the project needed to charge a fee for the report, but this year it is free (thanks to a new sponsor). To get a copy of the current and all prior reports, click here.