As you can see from the figure below, the performanceof the venture capital industry has been reasonably consistent for the past few years, with about exits being about 15 percent of investments made five years earlier.
Many schemes assume, on the basis of past performance, a return of 7.5-8%, a figure that is highly implausible given the current low yields. (By contrast, in 1981, when Treasury bonds were yielding 13.5%, pension funds assumed a future annual return of just 6%.) Such rosy assumptions allow schemes to stint on their contributions, building up huge future risks.
Mike Taylor, author of the report, said they expected Crossrail to boost prices by an average of 20% - a figure derived from "wide-ranging research" research as well as the performanceof other rail infrastructure projects both in the UK and abroad.