Using a large sample of institutional investors' investments in private equity funds raised between 1991 and 2011, we estimate the extent to which investors' skill affects their returns. Bootstrap analyses show that the variance of actual performance is higher than would be expected by chance,...

Do returns in private equity (PE) rise or fall with fund scale? This question is increasingly urgent amid larger funds and new focus on the retail market. Since better managers can raise larger funds, the causal effect is difficult to identify. We develop an instrument based on gifts to...

We investigate the role of alumni ties in university endowments' decision to invest into private equity funds. Based on a sample of 1,590 commitments made by 189 U.S. endowments into 613 funds during the period of 1995 to 2017, we show that endowments are more likely to invest into funds that...

In this paper, we show that the way in which fund managers are compensated can, under plausible conditions, lead them to act in a way that does not maximise the wellbeing of their clients. Due to performance bonuses in fund managers' rewards, there is a highly non-linear relationship between the...

In this paper, we show that the way in which fund managers are compensated can, under plausible conditions, lead them to act in a way that does not maximise the wellbeing of their clients. Due to performance bonuses in fund managers' rewards, there is a highly non-linear relationship between the...

On average, ETFs have lower annual expense ratios than open-end mutual funds due to a few functional differences. Both have fixed and variable costs which are incorporated in the expense ratio, and the assumption is that all costs are borne by the investor. We apply previous models for open-end...

The importance of private fund investor due diligence in the investment allocation process, in capital formation, and in private fund litigation has reached unprecedented levels and is further increasing. To provide the industry with data, data trend analyses, and guidance on applicable legal...

We compare the characteristics of conglomerates and private equity entities. This is done by examining the differences among their business models. We analyze the relations of the two entity types to their investors on the one hand and to their investments on the other hand. The distinguishing...

General Partners (GPs) in private equity face a trade-off between focusing their skills and effort on fewer investments to earn higher returns, or investing more broadly to reduce risk through diversification. Using a novel, deal-level dataset of 5,925 global investments from 1999 to 2016, we...

Based on a sample of 114,098 investments committed by 12,258 limited partners into 20,473 private equity funds, we study an international home bias in fund manager selection in private equity. We find that limited partners overweigh their investments with fund managers domiciled in the same...