First-time fund managers in the PE and VC industries often have a difficult time raising their debut funds, not to mention outperforming their peers once their funds close. Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman publicly cautioned budding PE fund managers earlier this year, and the risks are similar in the VC world. Why risk ruining your career trying to make it in the crowded PE and VC markets?

Well, in many cases, those first-time managers actually do pretty well. The table below includes the top-performing debuts for PE, VC and funds-of-funds by vintage, and includes quite a few now-familiar names. Easily the highest IRR recorded by any firm post-2000 goes to Union Square’s first fund, which has brought in 67% since debuting in 2005.

To get a closer look at more in-depth fund returns data, download our most recent Global PE & VC Benchmarking Reportfor free. And if you’d like to dig even deeper into our platform, schedule a free trial with a member of the PitchBook team.