Carlyle’s David Rubenstein: PE fundraisers will turn to Skype

According to The Carlyle Group co-founder, those on the fundraising trail will take advantage of these tools to communicate with investors over the next 5-10 years.

"It's as if the world has compressed in many ways - information is more readily available, technology is more readily available," said Rubenstein. "The one thing that hasn't changed over the last 40 years is private equity fundraising."

Interaction among GPs and LPs is typically a lengthy process which involves numerous in-person meetings, but Rubenstein predicts that in the future firms will hold only their initial meetings in person. Most subsequent communications will take place via Skype or other video conferences accessible on the iPad, in order to "cut down on cost and time".

Jonathan Nelson, CEO of Providence Equity Partners, agreed that there are efficiencies to be gained from fundraising online. "Just about everything is online," he pointed out, revealing that he sometimes conducts video conferences with investors.

Another trend Rubenstein expects to emerge in the coming years - as we move into the era of ‘private equity 4.0', as he described it - is for non-accredited individual investors to become a large source of capital. He anticipates that various government agencies will start allowing individuals to participate in the asset class, albeit in slightly different ways to large firms.

"They'll say that if the returns are so wonderful for the large players, why can't the smaller people also invest and get those returns?" he asked.

The Investment Summit forms part of the AVCJ Forum 2011 and Private Equity Week - Asia. It continues Thursday. For more information, please visit http://www.avcjforum.com. You can also follow events as they unfold via Twitter @AVCJ (hashtag #avcj and #avcjforum).

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• Fundraising
• Providence Equity Partners
• The Carlyle Group
• AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum