How much money are your private-equity investments making? The question is easy to answer for other asset classes, such as bonds or publicly traded stocks. All that is required is the price paid at purchase, the price now and the time that has elapsed between the two. It is less obvious how returns for private-equity investments should be calculated. Capital is earmarked for such investments, but it is only “called” once the investment firm has found a project. There is little information about value once invested. Cash is returned in lump sums at irregular intervals.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Show me the money”
Finance & economics March 16th 2024
- China’s economic bright spots provide a warning
- China is churning out solar panels—and upsetting sand markets
- Saudi Arabia’s investment fund has been set an impossible task
- The private-equity industry has a cash problem
- Russia’s economy once again defies the doomsayers
- How NIMBYs increase carbon emissions
- Is the bull market about to turn into a bubble?
From the March 16th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents