When Secondaries Should Come First
Investors seeking to gain initial exposure to private investments should actively consider secondaries, rather than funds-of-funds, as the very first step to constructing a long-term private equity portfolio.
Authored by: Andrea Auerbach
A New Arrow in the Quiver: Investment-Level Benchmarks for Private Investment Performance Measurement
The private equity market has evolved to become increasingly sophisticated and competitive, resulting in a profusion of specialized sub-strategies (for example, co-investing, direct investing, sector-focused strategies) and managers expanding into geographies, sectors, and/or asset classes that may be new to them and their investors. In this context, fund-level net to LP benchmarks, while still necessary, are not always sufficient to evaluate performance. This paper introduces Cambridge Associates’ Investment-Level Benchmarks and shares examples of the types of perspectives they can offer subscribers.
Are Private Equity Returns Doomed?
No. You just need to know where to look. The informed alternative investor is focused on identifying managers with the potential to outperform. Where to find these managers? The lower end of the private equity arena.
The Private Path to Latin America’s Most Dynamic Sectors
For investors seeking regional diversification and differentiated exposure to emerging markets, Latin American private equity and venture capital warrants serious consideration.
“Mind the Gap” in US Venture Capital Valuations
Venture capital offers compelling returns for the stalwart long-term investor. The most relevant question for investors in any stage of venture is the potential impact of prevailing market conditions on ultimate returns. In this brief, we look at valuation data today and also use our proprietary data set of funds to review historical returns during periods when valuations reset.
Want to Own a Previously Private Equity–Owned Company? Quite Possibly YES
Whether investors are ready to admit it or not, sponsor-to-sponsor transactions—in which one private equity sponsor sells its stake in a company to another private equity sponsor—are here to stay, and that may not be a bad thing.
Making Waves: The Cresting Co-investment Opportunity
Executive Summary Co-investing is gaining popularity and theoretically offers investors cost advantages and higher return potential. This report frames the opportunities and common pitfalls of co-investing, leveraging our aggregated data on co-investments and funds generating co-investment. Our analysis shows that co-investment returns have the potential to outpace private fund investment returns. Of over 100 buyout co-investments…
Declaring a Major: Sector-Focused Private Investment Funds
The competitive advantages and resulting return profile of sector specialists should not be ignored when constructing a long-term private equity portfolio While it seems clear that a sector specialist should outperform a generalist within their sector of focus, in this paper we introduce data to show that on average sector-focused managers do in fact outperform….
The Global Overhang (According to Goldilocks): Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right
Today’s estimated global overhang is $909 billion net of fees, with US private equity, European private equity, and real estate the primary contributors. With capital appearing to be deployed at a slower pace than historically, the overhang is larger than expected. Too much overhang and the pressure to put capital to work before it expires…
Growth Equity Is All Grown Up
Growth equity has matured and evolved into a distinct asset class with different characteristics from both venture capital and private equity, and may represent an attractive alternative for certain investors. For those old enough to remember the commercials, U.S. growth equity could perhaps be called the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of the private investment world….