Analysis & Consulting
for
Private Markets

One of the key themes of managing an investment portfolio is the tension between seeking higher returns by focusing efforts on a narrow specialization and reducing risk by diversifying. This is seldom more true than in PE, which requires its own nuanced framework for thinking about the problem. In this post, Rahat Dewan considers how to build just such a framework, touching on what research has to say, including some of the recent studies that Bella Private Markets has conducted.

In a recently published study funded by the Knight Foundation, we follow up on our landmark 2018 work that offered the first comprehensive look at diverse ownership of asset management firms. In this updated analysis, we quantify the representation of women- and minority-owned firms in the U.S. asset management industry, and explore in more depth the performance of diverse-owned funds. We find that these groups perform just as well as the industry overall, despite accounting for only a small percentage of firms.

In the face of a deluge of capital, GPs are seeking ways to gain a competitive edge in attracting top investors and top portfolio companies. To this end, many VC firms are increasingly trying to differentiate themselves by providing value added services (VAS). In this post, Jake Ledbetter discusses some of our recent research into this phenomenon and explores its staying power.