A Private Equity Course

Abstract

Currently, there is a widespread and strong demand for courses covering private equity funds. This pressure is understandable given that most students in business schools are seeking jobs in the private equity industry, and plenty of students in other fields also want to join. Private equity funds grew from managing about $5 billion in 1980, to about $500 billion in 2000, to about $5 trillion in 2016, and are nearing $10 trillion as of 2020. This growth has exceeded that of any other financial products. In addition, in the US alone, nearly 10 million people work for a company controlled by a private equity fund. Finally, this industry is home to a stockpile of mythologies, war-stories and fantasies, all shrouded in complex jargon, making the need for education yet more pressing. This private equity course attempts to assist students on their quest to become fluent in the private market language and techniques. This up-to-date, authoritative, and non-complacent course builds on twenty years of academic research and teaching in this field, with the contribution of practitioners who intervene as guest speakers and tutors. The course textbook, “Private Equity Laid Bare” (v3.0, 381 pages) is affordable, especially as it includes five case studies, of which two role plays, and a specialised dictionary (Alternative Oxford Private Equity Dictionary). A companion podcast series also provide a body of asynchronous material free of charge.