Are Secondaries Experiencing a Growth Spurt?
Yes. Secondaries, the “yang” to the “yin” of primaries and an investment strategy nearly as old, are growing, particularly GP-led secondaries, which have grown 43% annually over the last nine years.
Private Investment Series
Private Company Operating Metrics: Global Analysis
Analyzing operating metrics can provide insights into the process by which private equity managers execute their strategy. This update to our annual report includes comparisons of private equity globally (roughly 9,600 companies in total) with public peers, as well as regional comparisons for approximately 5,000 US-based companies, more than 2,400 European companies, and more than 1,600 Asian companies acquired by PE firms from 2000 through 2019.
Are Retail Investors the Vanguard of Private Equity?
Yes, and they have been for some time. Progress has been slow, but current market and regulatory conditions could enable a breakthrough. The impact will be felt primarily in the upper registers of the private equity arena. I’m viewing Vanguard’s recent private equity–related announcement as the first of a two-step process. The first step is…
Private Company Operating Metrics: Global Analysis
For the first time, this update to our annual report includes comparisons of private equity globally (roughly 8,500 companies in total) with public peers, as well as regional comparisons for approximately 4,000 US-based companies, more than 2,000 European companies, and more than 1,200 Asian companies acquired by PE firms from 2000 through 2018.
Global ex US PE / VC Benchmark Commentary: Second Half & Calendar Year 2018
The developed ex US and emerging markets PE/VC indexes have handily outperformed their public market counterparts across time based on modified public market equivalent (mPME) returns.
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Policy Benchmarking: Best Practices for Private Investments
For investors with private allocations, how one incorporates them into the policy benchmark will materially impact the portfolio’s relative performance, making the choice key to informed decision making. We review the various methodologies used and make a series of recommendations on best practices to follow. In considering the performance of private investments within the total portfolio, we anchor to a set of principles: keep it simple, don’t treat private investments differently, and make performance evaluation as meaningful as possible.
Portfolio Benchmarking: Best Practices for Private Investments
When assessing performance at the aggregate private portfolio and sub-component level, investors should take the long view. In this publication, we review how long funds take to settle into their ultimate quartile ranking and highlight our framework for benchmarking a portfolio of private investments.
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.
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.