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The purpose of this paper is to test the so-called “Sell in May” effect in globally listed private equity markets based on monthly data covering the period 2004–2017.

Ordinary least squares regressions, generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity regressions and robust regressions are used to investigate the existence of the “Sell in May” effect in globally listed private equity markets. Additionally, the authors conduct robustness checks by dividing the sample period into two subperiods: pre-financial and post-financial crisis periods.

The authors find limited statistically significant evidence for the “Sell in May” effect. In particular, the authors observed a statistically significant “Sell in May” effect when taking time-varying volatility into account. These findings indicate that the “Sell in May” effect is driven by time-varying volatility. By contrast, economic significance as measured by visual return inspection and the magnitude of the estimated “Sell in May” coefficients in combination with their positive signs was found to be considerable.

The findings are important for all kinds of investors and asset managers who are considering investing in listed private equity.

The authors present a novel study that examines the “Sell in May” effect for globally listed private equity markets by using LPX indices, offering valuable insight into this growing asset class.

This study aims to investigate the day-of-the-week (DoW) effect in globally listed private equity (LPE) markets using daily data covering the period 2004–2021.

To investigate the existence of the DoW effect in globally LPE markets, ordinary least squares regression, generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) regression and robust regressions are used. In addition, robustness audits are conducted by subdividing the sampling period into two sub-periods: pre-financial and post-financial crisis.

Limited statistically significant evidence is found for the DoW effect. By taking time-varying volatility into account, a statistically significant DoW effect can be observed, indicating that the DoW effect is driven by time-varying volatility. Economic significance is captured through visual inspection of average daily returns, which illustrate that Monday returns are lower than the other weekdays.

The results have important implications on whether to adopt a DoW strategy for investors in LPE. The findings show that higher returns on selected days of the week for certain indices are possible.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper provides the first study to examine the DoW effect for globally LPE markets by using LPX indices and contributes valuable insights on this growing asset class.