Long-term returns for UK private equity rose again last year, outperforming both the stock market and pension funds, the UK’s industry trade organisation said on Monday. A survey published by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) said buyout firms made average returns of 20.1 percent a year in the decade through 2007, while the FTSE All Share index offered 6.2 percent and pension funds 7.1 percent a year. «These excellent performance figures show why so many pension fund trustees and other institutional investors want to invest in private equity.»