The firm said a number of private equity funds had reported interim results in the last few weeks and all of them had declared increases in their NAVs.
Higher earnings played the main role in boosting NAVs, with changes in market multiples and foreign currency movements seen as a secondary factor.
Winterflood said the recent sell-off in the market had seen discounts in the private equity sector widen considerably, although they are still some way off levels seen in 2008/9.
It added that listed private equity funds are cheap by historical standards and the sector had gone some way to redress its "horrific" performance in 2008.
Most funds also reported an increase in investment activity in the period, albeit up from low levels and the majority of them made disposals during the first half.
The strongest result was from SVG Capital, which increased its NAV by 25% through a combination of strong revenue and earnings growth and gearing.
On the other end of the spectrum Candover Investments saw a lacklustre 3% rise in its NAV.
Funds that Winterflood considers to be good value plays are the Standard Life European Private Equity fund of funds, which is currently trading at a discount of 33% and the Electra Private Equity fund, which is on a discount of around 37% at the moment.
James Brown, analyst at the group, said the Standard Life fund offers diversified exposure and has a strong long-term track record, while Electra’s fund is one of the larget listed private equity funds and so offers reasonable liquidity.
On a longer-term view the team at Winterflood expected HgCapital Trust to continue to outperform its peers in NAV terms due to the "strength of its management team and its exemplary timing of the investment cycle".
But Winterflood added this fund is not a value play currently becuase it is trading at an 8% discount, which is a considerable premium to its peers.
