December 2003 / January 2004 Issue

Patricia M. Cloherty is chairman and CEO of Delta Capital Management, the Moscow-headquartered private equity firm that manages The US Russia Investment Fund. Delta was formed as part of the privatisation of the fund that enabled private capital to supplement the original public funding. Cloherty is a seasoned private equity investor herself, having joined Patricof & Co Ventures, Inc. in 1970 and rising to become co-chairman and president of that firm's newer, larger offspring Apax Partners Inc. She now splits her time between Russia and the US.

Russia remains a country marked by contradictions. Investors are at once intrigued by its economic success and irritated by the government's casual attitude towards corporate rights. John Stephens explains how this constellation affects the prospects for private equity in Russia.

Despite the market downturn, private equity remains an A-list subject among MBA students. A growing number of international business schools are keen to capture the mood and offer courses designed to prepare students for a career in the industry. Alex J. Stockham reports.

Two years after large-cap corporate restructuring began to feed LBO deal flow in Switzerland, many now expect the country's mid-market to be taking centre stage next year. Private Equity International paid a visit to Switzerland's buyout community to find out why smaller looks set to be better.

Swiss institutional and retail investors discovered private equity sooner than many of their European peers, and they also took a particular liking to investing in the asset class through structured products. Then the market turned. Philip Borel looks on as the country's private equity investment community emerges from the aftermath.

The impact of US capital allocated to private equity globally has been, and will be for the foreseeable future, massive. Not only is it a matter of the amount of money available but the type of money also. As one UK-based general partner puts it: “You don't just get a sizeable commitment, you also get long-term commitment.”

US institutional investors active in private equity are eager to deploy capital outside their home market. European GPs offering buyout funds are the main beneficiaries, writes Andy Thomson.

US public pensions are among the largest investors in private equity – but the directors who sit on their boards are sometimes viewed by investment staff and consultants as having only vague notions as to what private equity is and what role it should play in a portfolio. Now, some market observers see an increasing drive toward education about the asset class at the board level, while others see continuing communication challenges. David Snow reports.

UK pension funds are big, numerous and most are looking for the kind of superior returns that can be delivered by alternative asset classes such as private equity. Shouldn't there be more of them investing greater percentages of their capital in such alternatives therefore? Philip Borel looks at the reasons why this hasn't been happening and asks: are the fund trustees to blame?

Bonds and loans issued in November to fund the $4.2bn leveraged acquisition of Ondeo Nalco sold like hotcakes. In a transaction that bodes well for next year, debt investors couldn't get enough – literally. Deal Mechanic explains why.

A standard challenge that private equity investors face is benchmarking the performance of their portfolio against that of the public market. A partial solution is to adopt the public market equivalent (PME) or index method developed more than a decade ago. But this still suffers from several important caveats. Here, Christophe Rouvinez presents “PME+”, a new method of comparing investment returns. This approach potentially has wide-ranging applications beyond benchmarking, including uses in risk management and the credit rating of private equity portfolios.

Pension money Staff 2004-01-01 Writer Pension plans exist to accumulate capital for their members over the long term. Private equity is a long-term investment play and is capable of generating more capital gain than many other asset classes. Enough said? Not if you're talki