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Podcast: How to Benchmark Private Equity? Conversation with Dr. Oliver Gottschalg

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 3.06.08 PMListen to Working Capital Conversations: Leading thinkers, practitioners and experts discuss the ideas that drive global business.

It’s an obvious question for any LP or investor: How can I consistently team up only with GPs who will outperform the market? How do I maximize Alpha?

While it’s clearly fantasy to always get that right, thoughtful investors relentlessly seek access to the best data and most thorough analysis – trying to determine what attributes from past performance are reasonable to apply to the future?

And it’s not just small or midsize investors who wonder this? It’s some of the biggest in the world, including CalPERS, which manages the largest U.S. public pension fund. CalPERS recently asked its GPs for carried interest data, which subsequently raised a global debate around incentive fees and a straightforward question: Is Private Equity worth the money?

One person who studies the data – continually reviewing a range of inputs to create unique and headline-making analysis – is Dr. Oliver Gottschalg. Dr. Gottschalg is Head of Research at Peracs, a specialized advisory firm providing advanced private equity fund due diligence and benchmarking services. He also is part of the Strategy Department at the HEC School of Management in Paris; he serves as HEC’s Academic Dean for the TRIUM Global Executive MBA Program.