Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds: A Primer

Abstract

How do venture capital and private equity funds actually work? This Technical Note covers the "when, who, and how" details:

"When": fund length, extensions, and when investors can no longer initiate new investments.
"Who": who is in the General Partner entity, the importance of the firm's Management Company (the owners of the firm), how fees and carried interest flows work, and the Limited Partners' Advisory Committee.
"How": key person clauses, invested capital vs, committed capital, what happens when an investor defaults on its commitment, how multiples are calculated (MOIC vs. TVPI), the difference between realized and unrealized gains/losses, how fund distributions work, and the difference between distributed and residual value.