Brian Larcombe, the chief executive of 3i, Europe's largest independent private equity business, believes institutional investors are too concerned about quick returns at the expense of continuing yield.

Larcombe asks: "Which would you rather have, double your money back over two years or an annual return of 25% over seven years? Investors who prefer the first, underestimate the cost of reinvestment." Receiving cash is great, but investors can earn next to nothing while waiting to put the cash back to work.