In Defense of Private Equity--Employees who play their cards right can thrive in private companies

摘要

With almost one trillion dollars of capital available for investment in private companies, Private Equity (PE) funds are finding our industry an attractive space in which to invest. Fear not! This situation will lead to tons of opportunities for employees who play their cards right. First, a bit on PE funds: they raise capital from private investors for the purpose of investing in private companies. By design, PE investments often involve a greater level of risk to the investors in the fund, but for the same reason they can provide attractive returns—often on the order of 20-25% or more on an annualized basis—once the "exit event" or sale of the businesses in which they invest takes place.