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Private equity has long been based on a very structured and relatively rigid model: a limited investment period, generally five to seven years, followed by a mandatory divestment phase in order to return capital to investors. This framework, embodied by so-called closed-end funds, has shaped the industry for several decades.
When a private equity fund evaluates an investment opportunity, attention naturally focuses on the company’s financial performance. Revenue, EBITDA, cash flow generation, competitive positioning, and growth prospects are, of course, analyzed in great detail. However, there is another factor that can, on its own, determine whether or not the fund decides to invest: the quality of the management team.
Few investors have left as profound a mark on the history of finance as Warren Buffett. Nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha,” he became one of the richest people in the world thanks to an investment approach that appears, at first glance, surprisingly simple. Yet behind this apparent simplicity lies an extraordinary level of discipline, applied with remarkable consistency for more than sixty years.
In the world of mergers and acquisitions, it is common to hear that a company is “for sale” or that a private equity fund is actively looking for a buyer for one of its portfolio companies. However, the reality is much more nuanced. Every year, numerous companies receive highly attractive acquisition offers that they nevertheless choose to reject, sometimes even when the proposed price is significantly above their theoretical valuation.
When discussing financial markets, attention is often focused on investors, hedge funds, or investment banks. However, one category of participants plays an equally essential role, despite being much less known to the general public: market makers.
When discovering private equity, one question often arises: how do funds actually make money? In reality, private equity management companies have several compensation mechanisms, some directly linked to investment performance, while others help finance day-to-day operations
Mergers and acquisitions are often presented as one of the most powerful ways to accelerate a company’s growth. However, history has shown that some of the most ambitious transactions have ended in spectacular failures.
For a long time, hedge funds mainly recruited candidates from top business schools, finance programs, or economics backgrounds. A solid understanding of financial markets, derivatives, and asset valuation was often enough to build a career within these institutions.
As a student on the MSc Strategic Management and Consulting program, Sandheep looks back on his career and the lessons he has learned.
In finance recruitment, whether in investment banking, private equity, or asset management, CV screening is an extremely fast process, and contrary to what many candidates believe, it is rarely a deep analytical review at first glance but rather a rapid filtering exercise designed to answer one simple question: is this profile worth a closer look or not?