What is Private Equity?
In this exciting series on private equity, shot entirely from home, Gavin discusses its three defining features - negotiation, exit and activism - and private equity's classification as an asset class.
Overview
The characteristics of private equity which distinguish it as an asset class are that every transaction involves a negotiation, that every investment is made with an explicit understanding that it will be exited within a defined time period and that the role of the investor in the governance of the investment is an activist one of getting involved in managerial decision making. The private equity market developed in phases starting in the seventies and now there are some 7000 firms operating globally. Care must be taken to distinguish the handful of mega firms from the rest.
Key learning objectives:
What do the three key features of the asset class mean?
The history of private equity
What kinds of firms do we distinguish?
Summary
Expert
Gavin Ryan
Gavin Ryan has twenty years’ experience as a private equity fund manager. He has managed a $30m Advent International Affiliate Fund, a $200m Fund part of Soros Fund Management and a €2.5bn Green Energy Asset Manager. Before he was in investment banking with HSBC and Nomura. Gavin has an Engineering Degree from Cambridge and an MBA from McGill.
