The same track record predicted nothing and everything

What changes when you measure a fund's performance a decade too early.

The Track Record Trap

The richest investors are holding almost no cash

With nothing in the way, they put more into private equity than anything else.

An investor told me our fees were too low

A drive around St. Louis changed how I see the hurdle.

The Track Record Trap

The number of active fund managers grew from roughly 3,700 in 2007 to 13,000 by the end of 2022, while private markets simultaneously expanded beyond traditional buyout into growth, venture capital, private credit, infrastructure, secondaries, and other increasingly specialized strategies. The allocator's decision set has multiplied faster than the evidence available to evaluate it.

The largest fund ever raised rests on three data points

Fewer than one in three managers repeat top quartile across three funds. KKR published that

Where is your return going?

Introducing the Fee Stack. The private funds open to retail investors are layered with them.

Size matters

The bigger the fund, the smaller your cut. Now there's a number to put on it.

The Small-Fund Premium: Why Less Capital Often Produces More Value