December / January 2016 Issue

Route1 lets the buyer and seller deal directly with each other (like Airbnb); it pairs people by matching them, as Tinder does; and, like Twitter, it’s aimed at millennials.

Stuart Hammer, a counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton who specializes in environmental matters, explains what risks firms should consider before buying a US company.

Legal action over portfolio companies could leave managers in the red or the black, as real assets firms know. Their private equity peers are about to start feeling the pressure. Claire Wilson reports

As compliance and reporting requirements become more exacting for private fund managers, the importance of paper trails comes to the fore.

Fund managers panicking about regulation should remember they can influence what’s made into law and the most-feared rules can have unexpected benefits.

A new US president, an EU in crisis and an ever-growing list of regulatory changes. For the five real estate industry experts at pfm’s roundtable the challenges facing fund managers in Europe show no sign of easing

As firms evolve from private equity shops to multi-alternative asset managers, KKR’s Bill Janetschek tells Marine Cole how the role of CFOs and finance departments has changed

The little data available on minority recruitment at alternative assets firms paint a bleak picture. Is the industry the final frontier when it comes to diversifying staff, asks Claire Wilson

GPs faced with the prospect of firing an employee need the right mix of documentation, counsel and candor to minimize the risk of lawsuits and recrimination, writes Rob Kotecki

Alternative fund managers cannot escape from the ever-tightening grip of global regulators in 2016.

The US regulator doubled the number of fines on the private equity industry, spurring regulators elsewhere to take a tougher line.

Having rebounded from the immediate shock of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, funds and their advisors are learning to live with uncertainty.

The OECD’s tax avoidance project is giving the private funds industry plenty to think about.

Fund managers remain torn over whether to use an internal team or a third-party service.

As the perceived threat of cyberattack increases, global regulators are cracking down on data protection failures.

Drawing more than 400 delegates, the annual PEI CFOs and COOs Forum kicked off at New York’s Plaza Hotel with remarks from ILPA and research from EY that shows reporting is more important to investors than ever before.

The private funds industry should embrace new voluntary reporting guidelines or expect closer regulatory scrutiny, ILPA chief executive Peter Freire warned delegates.

PEI gathered together more than 150 alternative investment compliance professionals to discuss the most pressing fund regulation issues of the moment, and to forecast what lies ahead for the sector in 2017.

Some of the biggest names in private equity law took their talents to new firms in 2016. Here’s a rundown of some of the main staff changes.

The valuation framework is as crucial as it has ever been. David Larsen, a managing director at Duff & Phelps, discusses why both LPs and GPs need to rigorously determine fair value.

When it comes to estate planning, GPs would be wise to consider gifting the ownership of carried interest, and getting it properly valued, says Lindsay Hill, director at RSM Valuation Services.

What are the tell-tale signs it’s time to change how a GP administers its funds? Jeff Gendel of Gen II Fund Services discusses the heightened complexity of fund operations and GP requirements for fund administrators.