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• Private equity investing for high net worth families and individuals: the time is now 29 Jun 2010. Source: Solis Capital Partners. Dan Lubeck. Over the next several years, the opportunity for wealth creation in private equity should be significant, particularly for high net worth families and individuals, writes Dan Lubeck, founder and managing director of Solis Capital Partners.

• Europe stakes claim for cleantech VC leadership 08 Jun 2010. Source: AltAssets. The traditional view of European venture capital asserts that it is the poor relation to its more established relative on the US West Coast. With the rise of Asia’s private equity scene and as a growing economy in general, some would equally suggest that it is in danger of being marginalised.

• Something ventured, nothing gained – writes Ray Maxwell 25 May 2010. Source: Acrostic Limited. Ray Maxwell. One of the greatest mysteries of our time is the general failure of venture capital to live up to expectations.  It is perverse that an asset class that exhibits steroid levels of risk generates such low levels of return.  Samuel Johnson, the British linguist of the 1700s who pioneered the English dictionary, remarked that “second marriages are a triumph of hope over experience” and the same comment could aptly be applied to venture capital.  As an asset class, it has only periodically delivered returns and, even in good times, the range of returns between the best and worst performers has been immense.  It will be worthwhile exploring why this has occurred and whether or not venture capital can survive.

• The AIFM directive: a destructive policy for private equity and EU economies 17 May 2010. Source: David Haarmeyer. The global financial crisis created tremendous economic turmoil and hardship around the world. But it could create even greater economic and social damage if it becomes a justification for bad public policy. The European Union’s draft Alternative Investment Fund Manager directive (AIFM) looks like such a policy.

• VCs and the cleantech funding divide 03 May 2010. Source: Taylor Wessing. Charles Fletcher. There has been a trend over the last year or two to categorise cleantech investment into one of two streams: capital-intensive projects, such as marine energy turbines, biofuels, geothermal and solar; and efficiency technologies, such as smart grid technology and software products focused on the home, writes Charles Fletcher, an associate at law firm Taylor Wessing.

• Lewis Bantin of ECI Partners on value creation through operational improvement 27 Apr 2010. Source: AltAssets. During the boom years, private equity funds had access to cheap debt and ran amok, buying up huge companies with vast amounts of leverage in order to drive returns. Fast forward to 2010 and the private equity industry, as well as the rest of the world, is coping with the effects of one the worst recessions to hit since the Great Depression. Today, lenders are not laissez faire about their financing covenants and are far stricter with the levels of debt they are willing to offer. Lewis Bantin from ECI Partners sat down with AltAssets to discuss what funds can do to create value by making operational improvements within their portfolio companies, as opposed to relying on money from banks.

• Private equity - beyond the recession 19 Apr 2010. Source: Dirk Schneider. The financial and economic environment is still far away from its pre-recession heyday. But coordinated initiatives of governments and central banks have prevented a meltdown of the financial systems. GDPs and financial markets have stabilised surprisingly quickly and the likelihood of a prolonged recession appears low. Two scenarios are likely, writes management consultant Dirk Schneider.

• Davinder Sikand of Aureos Capital on PE investing in Africa 13 Apr 2010. Source: AltAssets. Davinder Sikand, Aureos Capital’s regional manager for East Africa, talked to AltAssets about private equity investing in Africa, the need for portfolio companies to formalise their operating procedures, the necessity of transparency, and the resilience of the continent as it emerges from the downturn.

• Simon Cook of DFJ Esprit on US versus European venture 06 Apr 2010. Source: AltAssets. DFJ Esprit CEO Simon Cook recently spoke with AltAssets about the differences between the US and European venture capital markets, misconceptions about the success of venture in Europe, the importance of the government’s UK Innovation Investment Fund and the foundation of DFJ’s dedicated secondaries team, Encore Ventures.

• Interminable, a feature on measuring GP performance by Acrostic CEO Ray Maxwell 30 Mar 2010. Source: Acrostic. Ray Maxwell. Like the sighting of the first cuckoo or spotting the first crocuses of spring, I feel impelled to revisit the topic of fund terms and conditions.

• The staying power of family offices and family administration management 19 Mar 2010. Source: Taylor Wessing. Alain de Foucaud. Staying power is one of the challenges faced by single- and multi-family offices and family administration management today in the wake of the current economic climate which still shows some uncertainty and weakness, writes Alain de Foucaud, a partner within law firm Taylor Wessing’s French operations.

• The registered direct offering investment opportunity for venture capital firms 15 Mar 2010. Source: Paragon Capital. Kevin Pollack. Venture capital firms seeking strong investment opportunities with high liquidity may want to take a serious look at registered direct offerings (RDOs).  In an RDO, investors buy registered and freely tradable securities from a public company, typically at a discount to the market price and with warrants as a sweetener, writes Kevin Pollack of Paragon Capital.

• Shai Weiss of Virgin Green Fund on environmental PE investment 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Shai Weiss is partner at Virgin Green Fund, a private equity fund that focuses on mid-market growth and expansion investment opportunities in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors. He spoke to AltAssets about the need to invest in the green sector, attractive sub-sectors in the environmental space and the effect that government-backed stimulus packages can have on growth in this area.

• Malcolm McKenzie of Alvarez & Marsal on struggling companies 01 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. The last 18 months have been extremely difficult for private equity funds, the companies they own and the economy as a whole on an international scale. AltAssets sat down with Malcolm McKenzie, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal’s performance improvement team, to find out what he’s seen in the private equity space, how businesses are coping and how they can adapt to the hurdles they’re facing.

• The outlook for restructuring and consensuality, by Stuart Mathieson 19 Feb 2010. Source: Babson Capital. Stuart Mathieson. As European loan investors reflect on what was a record year for both loan market returns and the number of recorded defaults, the primary market is at last starting to show some signs of life. But the backdrop remains one of shallow economic growth and slow demand recovery which is likely to take several years to reach the levels seen in 2007. Consequently S&P are forecasting that the European speculative grade default rate will remain high in 2010 at between 8.7-11.1 per cent. At the same time a recent Debtwire investor survey highlighted that 46 per cent of respondents believe this cycle’s restructuring activity in Europe will peak in the first half of 2010, writes Stuart Mathieson, managing director at Babson Capital Europe.

• A call to arms for innovation: corporations must invest in venture-backed start-ups, writes Bob Ackerman 05 Feb 2010. Source: Allegis Capital. Bob Ackerman. America’s innovation engine is running out of gas. Corporations in the US have been slashing internal long-term R&D spending for decades and, most recently, investments in venture-backed start-ups. Confronting an increasingly competitive global economy and the emergence of well-financed centres of innovation outside of long dominant Silicon Valley, the case for a major reversal could not be stronger nor could the consequences for failure be higher.

• Unleash small business to stir US job growth, writes Allegis Capital founder Bob Ackerman 02 Feb 2010. Source: Allegis Capital. Robert Ackerman. Historically, 70 per cent of job growth in the US has come from the small business sector – including the world of start-ups in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.  While small businesses are known for their agility – out of necessity – they are also much more susceptible to the vagaries and uncertainties emanating from Washington DC these days.  This presents a daunting challenge to entrepreneurs, who commit their personal wealth to hire employees in anticipation of economic and business growth and resulting higher profits.

• Investments aren’t just for Christmas, writes Acrostic CEO Ray Maxwell 26 Jan 2010. Source: Acrostic. Ray Maxwell. As we move well away from the festive period and into the New Year, I’m reminded of the adage that “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas”. People rush to acquire pets without any thought to the long-term consequences and, I believe, the same can be said of private equity investments over the past decade where a substantial number of investments were made in haste and both general partners and limited partners are now repenting in leisure.

• Out of the abyss and into the limelight: M&A re-ignites the cycle of innovation 19 Jan 2010. Source: Bob Ackerman. A new year has begun and economy watchers ponder how much better it will be in the wake of an abysmal 2009.  There is reason for guarded optimism in venture capital, America’s fountain of innovation. That’s because M&A activity, which has been showing encouraging signs of life, will improve further in 2010, providing a key foundation for start-up exits and restoration of health in the venture industry.

• How investors can improve their RoI, writes Coller IP Management CEO Jackie Maguire 13 Jan 2010. Source: Coller IP Management. Jackie Maguire. What factors do venture capitalists consider when deciding to invest in a company? This is the topic of a new report entitled Management, Management, Management - or what?. In the report, intellectual property specialist Coller IP Management suggests that a re-examination of due diligence processes by investors is needed in order to improve the returns on investments, writes Coller CEO Jackie Maguire.

• Former AVCA chairman Rotimi Oyekanmi on the African PE landscape 12 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. Rotimi Oyekanmi, CEO of Renaissance Group West Africa, chaired the African Venture Capital Association from March 2008 until his recent departure at the end of last year. Having worked in the industry for 18 years, Oyekanmi talked to AltAssets about the current state of private equity in Africa, the up-and-coming growth sectors, and how well the asset class is holding up on the continent in the face of the downturn.

• Corporate venturing, an overview from Taylor Wessing 08 Jan 2010. Source: Taylor Wessing. Simon Walker, Charles Fletcher. Politicians, commentators and analysts agree that innovation, especially in sectors such as clean technology, will be of crucial importance in the UK’s economic recovery. As businesses attempt to find growth opportunities to help them in the wake of the longest recession on record, one of the options to consider is corporate venturing, write partner Simon Walker and associate Charles Fletcher of law firm Taylor Wessing.

• New rules of taxation for carried interest unit holders in France: an unsatisfying reform for French managers of foreign investment funds 21 Dec 2009. Source: Mayer Brown. Laurent Borey. French administrative guidelines dated March 28 2002 historically provided for a specific tax regime for French holders of so-called “carried interest” units or shares issued by a French FCPR or SCR. According to said guidelines, the amounts received in respect of these units or shares could benefit, under conditions, from the favourable capital gain tax regime set forth under article 150-0A of the French Tax Code (i.e. based on current rates, an 18 per cent taxation plus social contributions at a 12.1 per cent rate).