Learning Curve Archive > 2005 European Food and Drink Report 07/12/2005. Europe's food and drink industry is going through a period of change, as new markets, technologies and patterns of consumer behaviour threaten to overturn the status quo - while simultaneously creating opportunities for private equity firms, 3i says in this report. Do venture capital firms eliminate incumbent management teams? 30/11/2005. Entrepreneurs and their management teams approach venture capitalists to fund not only their ideas, but also their approach to executing their schemes. One doubt that nags at many, however, is that the venture capital firm will use their financial leverage to terminate the founding management team, replacing them with the venture capitalists' personal choices for successors. International valuation guidelines: a big step forward 19/10/2005. Fund managers have to value their venture capital and private equity investments on a regular basis as part of the reporting process to investors. But, notes SJ Berwin, this valuation process is a complex matter: it involves ascribing values to illiquid companies. The US private equity market 05/10/2005. A historic perspective on US private equity together with views on the importance of manager selection and on portfolio construction are what Chris P. Welch discusses in his presentation. Accessing Individual Investors 15/06/2005. Private equity has typically raised most of its funds from institutional investors across the world and, for a variety of reasons, retail investors have never been a particular focus, says SJ Berwin. Although there has always been a smattering of high net worth individual investors around, the minimum commitment level sought by most funds - especially the larger ones - has put the asset class out of the reach of most. LPs and GPs: from good to great 18/05/2005. What makes for a good limited partner - and what makes for a good general partner? This panel discussion held at the Corporations, Entrepreneurs, Funds and Investors Summit in Paris agreed on one thing. It takes more than money. Where should the 'smart' money go? 10/05/2005. There is no universal optimal strategy for LPs, said Erik Kaas of Partners Group. Access to top funds, secondaries and listed vehicles is not equal for all investors; investors have different risk appetite and investment restrictions; and at different stages of a private equity portfolio, different investment decisions are likely to be 'smart'. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Gem Financing Report 2004 27/04/2005. By far the rarest source of capital for nascent entrepreneurs is classic venture capital. So rare is it, that even in the US, which has more than two-thirds of the total venture capital in the entire world (74% VC among G7 nations in 2003), far fewer than one in ten thousand new ventures receive their initial financing from VC firms. US companies received $8.1 million VC funding compared to an average of $1.2 million per company in other G7 nations in 2003, says Babson College and the London Business School. Attracting private equity skills to VCTs by David Thorp 19/04/2005. VCTs were introduced after lengthy collaboration between the BVCA and HM Treasury before the legislation was finalised in August 1995, says David Thorp, an Investment Manager at the Baronsmead VCTs and Chairman of ISIS Equity Partners plc. The rationale was to raise capital from high net worth investors for investment in a portfolio of fast growth companies. Valuation of private equity investments 22/02/2005. Fund managers have to value their venture capital and private equity investments on a regular basis, says SJ Berwin. But ascribing a value to illiquid companies is not a trivial matter, and – to make the task even harder – industry guidelines on the subject have often made inconsistent recommendations. Floating on air 09/02/2005. Is the upsurge in flotations by private equity-backed players based on solid ground, asks Scottish Equity Partners, or will the next round of European companies preparing for IPO find themselves floating on air? High Technology VC in the San Francisco Bay Area 26/01/2005. Fenwick and West map the venture capital landscape of this important area of Silicon Valley, including the basic legal issues, the C-Corp form for tech enterprise formation and venture funding in the region. The Golden Age of Private Equity? 18/01/2005. Private equity firms, which hold $100 billion in uninvested funds, are coming into the improving economy with an appetite for large deals. In some cases, they are forging alliances to come up with enough equity to compete for promising opportunities, according to speakers on a Knowledge Wharton panel titled, Financial sponsors: Finding value in a competitive market. The Venture Capital Cycle 07/01/2005. In the second edition of The Venture Capital Cycle, Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner correct widespread misperceptions about the nature and role of the venture capitalist and provide an accessible and comprehensive overview of the venture capital industry. Small Cap Private Equity Investing in Uncertain Times 01/01/2005. It's been a difficult time for many private equity investors over the last 18 months or so. But the next 12 could be a great time to invest ... as long as institutions follow some proven principles, says Kevin Foong of Courthauld Investments.