Research
Our Research Strategy
At IPC, data, research and education improve understanding of the role of private capital in the global economy. An essential first step for generating quality research is access to reliable data. Thus, our top priority is making research-quality data sources widely available to academic researchers.
Access to data on private investments presents challenges, including confidentiality concerns, the proprietary nature of many datasets, and the diffuse nature of private investments. However, we believe that these challenges are best addressed by a deliberate systematic approach through a combined academic effort. In many cases, data owners welcome the benefits derived from confidential analysis of their data by objective academic researchers.
IPC currently focuses on three research areas:
Private Equity Real Estate Active Management
Do Public Equities Span Private Equity Returns?
We characterize the factors common between public and private equity (PE) returns as well as the factors specific to private and public returns, respectively. Using a comprehensive dataset of PE funds and recent advances... More
Risk-Adjusted Performance of Private Funds: What Do We Know?
In this IPC white paper, we examine the historical risk-adjusted performance of private funds across diverse asset classes and geographies using the most comprehensive and current dataset to date. More
Optimal Hedge Fund Allocation
This study addresses the optimal asset allocation problem for investors managing a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and hedge funds. Significant allocations to hedge funds may be justified due to their diversification benefits, even when hedge funds generate minimal or no alpha. More
SEC Oversight of Private Equity and Hedge Funds
We examine the effect of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations on private fund investment advisers’ fundraising. We propose that SEC oversight could improve advisers’ disclosure and governance, facilitating capital formation. More
Hidden Risk
Since 2013, large U.S. hedge fund advisers have been required to report risk exposures in their regulatory filings. Using these data, we first establish that managers’ perceptions of risk contain useful information that is not embedded in fund returns. More
ESG Incidents and Fundraising in Private Equity
We present novel evidence on how environmental and social (E&S) incidents affect the capital-raising ability of Private Equity (PE) firms. PE firms with E&S incidents in portfolio companies are less likely to fundraise and raise smaller subsequent funds. More
The Performance of Private Video Game Equity
I use deal-level data from StepStone to perform the first ever analysis of private video game investment using 566 private video game investment deals, most of which come in the form of venture capital. Using these deals, I analyze private video game companies as a source of value accretion and as investment opportunities.
MoreDo GP Commitments Matter?
It is standard practice for private equity general partners (GPs) to commit capital to a fund alongside limited partners (LPs). Despite the ubiquity of the practice, and the belief that it aligns GP-LP incentives, there is almost no large-sample empirical analysis of GP commitments. In this analysis, we seek to fill the gap in research...
MoreWhat Do Early Stage Investors Ask? An LLM Analysis of Expert Calls
We study how early-stage investors evaluate potential investments by using large language models (LLMs) to analyze 6,800 expert consultation calls. Not only do call volume and overall sentiment predict outcomes, but the specific content of discussions provides significant additional predictive power.
MoreInvestor Expertise and Private Investment Selection
Despite the remarkable growth of individual investors in private markets, little is known about their investment patterns. We test the impact of investor expertise on venture capital fund selection by conducting an experiment with limited partners.
More