A platform for private equity

I can relate to his point of view to a certain extent. Over the years, I've seen many notable speakers, from both the LP and GP sides, mobbed by other managers, investors, service providers and press as soon as they leave the stage. Many of these individuals, usually GPs (for various reasons) have come to accept this as part of the job.

To LPs who shrink from the spotlight, I would suggest that there are two major reasons for participating at industry events such as ours: leadership and communication. Like it or not, many of the larger and more experienced organizations are looked upon for leadership by their peers. They need to communicate their views on the issues facing the market and its future direction - and where better than face-to-face with their private equity colleagues. It can be as simple as that. 

As GPs often remark - with a mixture of frustration and opportunism - a number of Asia's emerging LPs have little experience with the asset class, having just graduated from public equities and fixed income. They are unable to provide much insight on private equity and this makes it all the more important that institutional investors with longer track records seek to play a role in creating a sustainable future for the industry. Public discussion, and by extension education, is a good first step. While there are CIO get-togethers that are used as forums for such discussions, they tend to take place behind closed doors. What is a prospective LP to do if he doesn't have an invitation?

As for GPs, there are of course a number of reasons why they should participate, besides fundraising and marketing. We have seen, over our 25 years in the business, how beneficial it is for them to share with an audience their firm's take on the opportunities in the market. As much as everyone hates to admit this, there is a bit of a herd mentality within private equity. Discussing the trends, challenges and opportunities helps the industry to focus on issues that require collective effort.

And perhaps more importantly, top GPs - just like top LPs - should show their leadership within and outside the private equity and venture capital community. As I have argued before, the industry is now too big to be ignored. Private equity deals dominate the financial media (take a bow, Michael Dell and Silver Lake), while venture capitalists are acknowledged as the brains behind tech gurus working for NASDAQ-listed companies. The role of a senior partners at a global buyout firm is not that dissimilar to that of a CEO at a Fortune 500 company.

The need to communicate outside your own pool of staff, portfolio companies and LPs is obvious. Private equity has been misunderstood in the past and it is up to the industry as a whole to make sure this doesn't happen in the future. An open forum is the ideal setting for leaders to come together and make their voices heard - to the industry and to politicians, government officials, corporate executives and the media, all of whom also attend our events.

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• Topics
• GPs
• LPs
• AVCJ Events
• Asia