A year ago, in March 2005, the new International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines were launched. Though this launch was already a great success for what some had called a "Mission Impossible", it was at that time still quite uncertain whether the industry participants...

Private equity is a risky asset, but private equity investments not necessarily so. We look at the risk profile of each type of investment vehicle, and find clear differences. For example in venture capital, the probability of a total loss of capital invested is around 30% for direct...