The IFF School of Private Equity

Already the programme of choice for many organisations around the world. The IFF School of Private Equity raised the bar in private equity training. Focusing on the practical aspects of private equity, this really is the only course of its kind that is designed with practitioners in mind.

Course Highlights

Why this event is unmissable:

The only 5-day course of its kind that is dedicated to applications not just theory
You will learn from Guy Fraser-Sampson, one of the world’s leading private equity experts
The programme covers all aspects of private equity from both an LP/LG (fund level) and GP/entrepreneur (company level) perspective
You will benefit from highly practical guidance on practical matters such as fundraising and planning an investment portfolio
The use of extensive real-world practical examples and group case studies will provide you with state-of-the-art knowledge in the private equity sector
You will gain a unique insight into how private equity fits into modern investment portfolios and its role in multiasset class investing
You will receive a free signed copy of Guy Fraser-Sampson’s top selling book - Private Equity as an Asset Class

For details of the course trainer, please download the course brochure

Booking Information

Dates	Prices	Book This Course	Discount
01 - 05 Nov 2010	£ 4999		-
09 - 13 May 2011	£ 4999		-

Course Programme

DAY 1

Private equity within a modern investment portfolio

Multi-asset class investing
Absolute returns
Correlation
Liquidity
The Yale Model

Changing views of risk

The risk premium
Markowitz and CAPM
Volatility
Uncertainty
Subjective risk
Material risk
Towards a new view of risk

What is private equity?

Distinguished from quoted equities
Buyout and venture
Secondaries
Mezzanine
Infrastructure
PIPEs

How does private equity work?

Investors (LPs) and Managers (GPs)
Limited partnerships
Quoted vehicles
VCTs
Primary and secondary markets
Fund economics: fees and carried interest

How do private equity returns work (1)?

Difference between compound and vintage year returns
Calculating an IRR
Understanding the J-curve
Cashflows
The investment / divestment cycle

How does private equity stack up?

Performance versus other asset classes
Correlation
Long-term versus short-term

DAY 2

How do private equity returns work (2)?

Distinguish between allocated, committed, drawn down and invested capital
Refer back to fund economics to consider the implications of these differences
Measurement techniques
Money multiples and their uses
Money weighted returns
Time weighted returns
Annual returns

What is buyout?

Sub-classes
Sector
Development capital
Debt
Earnings
Size
Control

Buyout returns in theory (1)

How buyouts create value
Earnings and how to define them
Earnings growth
Multiple increase in a perfect market
Multiple increase in an imperfect market
Leverage

Buyout returns in theory (2)

Recapitalisation
Timing
Modelling and analysis
Deal sourcing
Exclusivity status
Lead investor
Partner attribution
Quoted comparables
An ear to the ground

Buyout returns in practice

US and European returns compared and analysed
Impact of mega fund capital
Structural change in the market
Influence of quoted markets
Expectations for the future

DAY 3

Class discussion session

How do we think buyout funds make money?
What are the limitations on buyout returns?
How might these play out in the future?
What may the impact of mega-funds mean for patterns of equity ownership?
Is the funding of the equity cycle infinitely renewable?

What is venture capital (1)?

Applications, not inventions
How has sector coverage changed?
Life science
IT
Telecoms
Stagev

What is venture capital (2)?

The US model
Home run mentality
Value add
The traditional European approach
The US model comes to Europe

Venture returns in theory

Money multiples
Valuations
Cost and value
IRRs and multiples
Going in equity
GIE as % of fund holding
The impact of home runs
Some thoughts on European returns

Venture returns in practice

US out-performance versus Europe
Just what happened in the mid-nineties?
Multiples drive IRRs
The Golden Circle
Market conditions
Europe – why the figures don’t tell the whole story
Returns by fund size
Returns by stage
Expectations for future returns

DAY 4

The Partnership fundraising process

The fund cycle
The investment cycle
The fund and portfolio models
Pre-marketing
The offering memorandum
The presentation
The offering meeting
LP process
Commitments

The LP process (1)

Decision making in general
Managing dealflow
Managing expectations
Need for process
Preliminary review
Dealing with serious candidates
Due diligence
Negotiating terms

Fund terms

Duration
Structure
Management fees
Start-up fees – what is included
Carry – deal by deal, full payback, etc.
Recycling
Key man
No fault divorce
Limitations on transfer

The LP process (2)

Planning a fund programme
Geography
Sector
Time
Legal / practical limitations
Allocated capital
Committed capital
Drawndown capital
Capital cycles and cashflow planning
What to do with uninvested capital

The LP process (3)

Monitoring
Analysis
Advisory boards
Secondaries
Co-investment
Anticipating the next fundraising

DAY 5

The venture funding process (1)

Deciding on the preferred funding method
Angels
Professional venture capital firms: stage sector, value add
What is the story?
Being realistic about the capital structure
What v/c firms will be looking for
Covenants
Liquidation preferences
Negative control

The Other Alternative Assets – Real Estate, Commodities and Private equity

The commodity indexes and enhanced indexing
Direct investments - private equity and real estate
Real estate investment funds and reits
Hedged and active commodities exposure

The venture funding process (2)

Being realistic about executive staffing
The presentation
The pitch
Negotiating terms
Working together
The traditional venture model– can the v/c perform?
Exit discussions
What to do when it goes wrong

The secondary market

How it works
Size
Reasons for use
Return expectations

The private equity “debate” (1)

What exactly are the issues?
Socio-economic considerations
Transparency
Responsibility
The future?
Club deals and anti-competitive tendencies:
- (a) company level
- (b) fund level

The case for private equity (2)

Regulation
Publicity
Short-term versus long-term considerations
Creation of companies and jobs
Venture capital’s economic impact
Individual enrichment:
- (a) Practitioners
- (b) entrepreneurs
Individual enrichment and responsibility: directors
A force for free markets – breaking down old
cultural attitudes