It is our pleasure to present the Q1 2012 RisCura SAVCA Private Equity Performance Report (click on the download link above). It is pleasing to note from the cash flow data received that deal activity started to pick up through 2011 and has continued into 2012. We have noted significant capital drawdowns for new investments, as well as some significant exits. This is after the very lean deal years of 2009 and 2010, and appears to indicate that the price expectation gap between buyers and sellers post the financial crisis has narrowed.

Regular readers of the report will note some changes in performance from the previous quarter, which are explained as follows:

• The headline 10-, 5- and 3-year end-to-end IRR calculations are reliant not only on the cash flows in the period, but on the opening NAV at the beginning of the 10-, 5- or 3-year period, as well as the period end NAV. Some significant changes in these opening NAVs occurred from the previous quarter, which has resulted in some significant changes in the IRR performance over these periods.
• The quarter has also seen the conclusion of some older funds and the finalisation of the performance of these funds.
• The 3-year performance has improved mainly as a result of a lower opening value after write-downs at the end of 2008.
• USD returns are heavily impacted by the Rand:Dollar exchange rates at the beginning and end of the measurement period, as well as on the dates of very large cash flows. The high 3-year USD return in particular was affected, as the Rand was especially weak at the start of the period.

As always, we thank the participants for providing their data for inclusion in this report.