Private Equity Findings library

Issue 18 2022

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • A helping handWhat kinds of value-add can entrepreneurs expect from VC backers? 
    • The right recipe?How governments spend public money on private markets 
    • Winners and losersWho really gains from SPAC investments 
    • Mythical no moreWhy unicorns are becoming commoner by the day

Issue 17 2021

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • A winning strategyDoes private equity genuinely outperform public equity?

    • The vanishing public companyIs the public company an out-of-date model in the 21st century?

    • Is the race to the swift?Why some lps seem to consistently outperform their peers

    • Shooting themselves in the footAre male investors neglecting female entrepreneurs at their own cost?

Issue 16 2020

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Unforeseen consequencesHow private equity investments affect competitors, sector productivity, and public markets
    • Distorting mirror?The impact of subscription lines on fund performance
    • Diminishing returnsDoes a leap in fund size lead to worse performance?
    • LPA blues​Do small LPs lose out in LPA negotiations?
    • Bigger slice, smaller pieThe venture capitalist’s share – how much is too much?

Issue 15 2019

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Managing to perfectionDo PE’s management interventions improve portfolio company performance? If so, how can GPs make their changes stick?
    • Riding the cycleAre GPs able to time the markets?
    • Spray and pray?How VC investment strategies have evolved
    • What price returns?​Is PE investment at odds with positive social outcomes?
    • Strong and stable?How VC investment strategies have evolved

Issue 14 2018

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Fool's Gold
      Do co-investments underperform fund investments?
    • The truth about unicorns
      Are unicorn valuations too good to be true
    • House of cards?
      Is private equity a risk to the financial system
    • Value for money
      Are funds of funds really worth their fees?
    • The lure of the new
      How to recognise genuinely innovative companies

Issue 13 2017

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Counting the cost
      How do top teams affect company performance?
    • The management effect
      Private equity’s record on product pricing
    • Follow the money
      How VC investors spot IPO lemons
    • Reach for the stars
      Can LPs still rely on GPs’ track records?
    • Is the US entrepreneur dying out?
      Why fewer start-ups may be no bad thing

Issue 12 2017

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Planting the right seeds
      Why some LPs outperform their peers
    • The fee factor
      Why some terms are not as LP-friendly as you think
    • Impact funds
      Which LPs invest in them – and should they?
    • Ripples of change
      How PE investments disrupt entire business sectors
    • Keeping it to themselves
      Who profits from insider rounds in VC?

Issue 11 2016

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Snakes or ladders?
      The effect of private equity ownership on the careers of portfolio company employees
    • Different strokes
      How much does private equity investing vary from firm to firm?
    • Going public
      How the state can drive innovation
    • Lipstick on a pig?
      Do private equity firms manipulate their performance data when fundraising?
    • Pick of the crop
      How venture capitalists choose their investments

Issue 10 2014

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Serving up change
      Does private equity ownership really bring operational improvements? Findings from the restaurant industry
    • Profiting from progression
      How GP turnover might be good for performance
    • Private equity grows up
      What happens to returns when an asset class matures?
    • Damaged goods
      Lessons from a difficult investment
    • Second to none
      Do secondary buyouts really underperform?
    • The knock-on effect
      Does VC investment spread innovation?

Issue 9 2014

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • A bitter taste 
      Why co-investments may not be the pick of the bunch
    • A new model of innovation 
      Josh Lerner on the conditions for successful incubation
    • Less bang for your buck? 
      How management fees impact on private equity performance
    • A steady hand 
      Achieving growth through good times and bad
    • SPACs 
      Treasure troves or time bombs?
    • Risk aversion in venture capitalists
      How personal priorities affect investment choices

Issue 8 2013

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • A position of power
      How large LPs influence GP deal decisions and how this affects fund performance. And, should other LPs be concerned?
    • Talent magnet
      How PE firms attract, incentivise and retain top CEOs
    • Second hands
      Drivers of liquidity and pricing in PE secondaries
    • The right medicine
      How to transform a small, orphan business into a global force
    • Risky business?
      Are LPs being compensated for PE’s illiquidity?
    • Over the horizon
      How a fund’s lifecycle affects GP risk appetite

Issue 7 2012

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Is bigger better? 
      Does size really matter when it comes to LP investment programmes?
    • Future forces 
      What will shape life, work and management in tomorrow’s portfolio company?
    • Perverse incentives 
      Are managers in buyouts inherently conflicted?
    • Yin and yang 
      Building a PE firm in a fast-changing economy
    • The f-word 
      Are PE guys simply financial engineers or do they actually create value?
    • Degrees of separation? 
      Can personal networks boost VC performance?

Issue 6 2012

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Off the rails?
      Private equity has come under fire for overleveraging companies and pushing them into distress. Is it true?
    • Culture counts
      Why listing might not be such a great idea
    • ​Performance puzzle
      How does buyers’ behaviour in auctions differ?
    • Culture clash?
      Turning around performance in an emerging market firm
    • PE vs strategics
      PE or public markets – which generates better returns?
    • IPOs and innovation
      Why people should be at the heart of GPs’ branding strategies

Issue 5 2011

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • The regulatory tangle
      Private equity is getting caught up in new rules designed to stabilise the global economy. Can it find a way through?
    • Top of the list
      Do private equity-backed IPOs outperform or underperform their peers?
    • SWFs uncovered
      Financial objectives or political considerations – what drives SWFs?
    • Public to privates
      Can PE’s long-term outlook really improve company performance?
    • Alumni links
      How employee networks can boost your business

Issue 4 2011

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Collusion or value add?
      How VC networks really operate
    • Future performance
      Why persistence may be a myth
    • Fire power
      Can CEO change boost performance?
    • Lessons from the bust
      How leverage hurts returns
    • The upside of turbulence
      Can PE build winners in bad times as well as good?
    • Coller institute
      Promoting a leading forum for debate

Issue 3 2010

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • The shape of things to come
      How buyout and VC funds will emerge from the crisis
    • Implicit incentives
      Why carry counts less than we think
    • Management, management, management
      Is this private equity’s trump card?
    • Calling time on captives
      Should banks be principal investors in private equity?
    • Coller institute
      PE Masterclass: Lives up to its name

Issue 2 2010

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • Performance quirks
      Why some LPs do better than others
    • VC and the state
      How can governments get it right?
    • The returns debate
      Does private equity really outperform?
    • Just the job?
      How buy-outs affect employment
    • Annual symposium
      Examining alignment of interests

Issue 1 2009

  • This issue focuses on the following topics:

    • From credit bubble to zombie companies
      What’s next for private equity?
    • Better boards
      What can public companies learn from private equity?
    • Quick flips or long haul?
      The truth about buy-outs
    • Busted brands
      Can the top GP names win back the banks?
    • Annual Coller prize
      Best case study, best management report