Commentary

Video: Evaluating ESG policies

David Russell, co-head of responsible investment at USS, discusses how the LP evaluates fund managers' environmental, social and governance policies.

In the dock, again

The past week or so has shown that the days of labour unions and politicians painting private equity firms as evil asset strippers haven’t passed – and threaten to undo much of the industry’s good work over the past few years in improving its public image, writes Oliver Smiddy.

LPs need to stand up for private equity

At PEI's Responsible Investment Forum in New York last week many limited partners applauded GPs' efforts to enhance environmental, social and governance policies -- they ought to do so publicly more often, writes Christopher Witkowsky.

LPs have compliance headaches too

Private equity managers aren’t the only ones grappling with risk management and compliance pressures. Investors face many of the same challenges, writes Jenna Gottlieb.

VC homeruns may be like waiting for lottery wins

A fundamental shift in the way venture capital firms look to score returns for investors is necessary for industry LPs to stay confident in the asset class, writes Charles Irving.

Had you sold in ’09, you’d be sorry now

With pre-crisis funds bouncing back, LPs can thank private equity’s inherent illiquidity for stopping them from getting out too soon, writes Philip Borel.

Bad timing, big returns

Private equity professionals are a competitive bunch. But many were likely toasting Cinven’s sale of Phadia this week as further evidence that boom-era buyouts can prove profitable.

FE, FI, FO, FUM

They have many names: 'Family Enterprises', 'Family-backed Investors', 'Family Offices' and 'Family funds under management'. The credit crunch has resulted in major changes to the way large families who run their own investment vehicles think and how they invest their money, writes Mike Reid, managing partner of Frog Capital.

Skype: the deal that keeps delivering

A cursory trawl of our archives demonstrates just how intimately tied Skype has been to venture capital and private equity firms during its short lifetime, and how profitable it has been for those firms.

PEI 300: chronicling the industry’s evolution

PEI’s proprietary ranking of the world’s largest private equity firms highlights a number of GPs and niche strategies attracting investor interest despite a general slowdown in fundraising post-financial crisis.