General Partner Research Articles

“If the news is fake, imagine history”: The network state and the second bourgeois revolution

Written by Balaji Srinivasan (2022), founder of genetic testing firm Counsyl, former general partner at Andreesen Horowitz, and former CTO of Coinbase with close connections to anti-democratic tech billionaire Peter Thiel, The Network State imagines a new state form grounded in blockchain technology. After first situating the text within longer genealogies of neoliberalism, authoritarian freedom, and libertarian exit, I then overturn the book’s central premise: that exit to the digital frontier via network states will increase human freedom. In highlighting how societies dominated by private property restrict human freedom by forcing the many to exchange their labor power to the few to survive, I argue that the creation of zones like the network state are instead a reflection of our epoch’s major dynamic: the attempt to shift the rights of capital and the authority over those rights to the transnational level. In contrast to those that see zones as part of an emerging neofeudalism, I conclude that The Network State is better understood as a legitimating text for a second bourgeois revolution.

The International Conference «Transport Obligations in the context of Technological Development» Dedicated to the Memory of Professor A. G. Kalpin

The paper is a brief overview of the international conference «Transport Obligations in the context of Technological Development» held on June 18, 2024 at Department of Civil Law of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL) and dedicated to the memory of Professor A.G. Kalpin. More than 30 speakers—representatives of leading Russian universities, business and government authorities—attended the conference. The conference was supported by the Digital Valleys Platform Foundation for the Support and Development of Information Technologies and Digitalization of the Economy, which is the general partner of the Technopravo project implemented within the framework of the Priority-2030 academic equality program. Four out of five Dr. Sci.— experts in transport law — attended the conference. The paper provides an overview of the main speeches and reports of leading Russian lawyers on transport law in the Russian Federation. Following the results of the conference, it was emphasized that many problems of transport law identified by Professor A. G. Kalpin have not yet been solved. This circumstance, as well as the rapid technological development of the Russian Federation, necessitates the continued modernization of domestic legislation in the field of transport law, including the formation of new legal regimes in the transport industry of the Russian Federation.

In search of a unicorn: Dynamic agency with endogenous investment opportunities

We study the optimal dynamic contract that provides incentives for an agent (e.g., SPAC sponsor, VC general partner, CTO) to exploit investment opportunities/targets that arrive randomly over time via a costly search process. The agent is privy to the arrival as well as to the quality of the target and can take advantage of this for rent extraction during the search process and the ensuing production. The optimal contract provides the agent with incentives for timely and truthful reporting via a time-varying threshold for investment and an internal charge for the time spent on search. In the equilibrium, as time elapses, the charge becomes progressively higher while the investment threshold is progressively lower, resulting in overinvestment at a time-varying degree. Our model generates empirically testable predictions regarding investments (such as M&As, hedge fund activism, VC investing, SPACs, and internal innovations), linking the degree of overinvestment to observable firm and industry characteristics.

Tax Incentive and Venture Capital Fundraising

This study examines the determinants of fundraising of venture capital firms in South Korea, with a focus on the effects of tax incentives. Specifically, we investigate how macroeconomic factors, general partner (GP) characteristics, and changes in tax incentives affect venture capital fundraising at both the industry and GP level, using a novel dataset from the Disclosure Information of Venture Capital Analysis (DIVA). To isolate the effect of tax incentives, we consider as a treatment variable an increase in income tax deductions for individual venture capital fund investors in 2018 and estimate its effect on venture capital fundraising. The results show that the treatment group has a significantly higher probability of raising funds and raising a higher number and amount of funds than the control group has after 2018. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the determinants of venture capital fundraising in South Korea and to empirically demonstrate the effect of tax incentives on venture capital fundraising.

Peer-Led Groups in Sexual Assault Prevention Programming: Myth Adherence and Self-Defense Efficacy within Gender and Race

Participants ( n = 520) in a study of two on-campus peer-led sexual assault prevention programs focused on bystander intervention and risk reduction were assessed. This study focused on myth reduction, as well as self-defense self-efficacy. Demographics allowed for within-group comparisons along gender and race. Among men who attended Bro Code, Black men had significantly lower sexual assault myth adherence on many rape myths than the control group, not true of white men. Those women who attended Girls Night Out (GNO) had significantly lower sexual assault myth adherence than the control group. While greater reductions in myth adherence were seen in white women than among Black women, Black women had significantly lower overall sexual assault myth adherence (in both control and sample). As a side note, we found that women who attended GNO had lower general intimate partner violence myth acceptance in addition to lower sexual assault myth acceptance, with some variation on individual myths. Finally, those women who attended self-defense training were significantly more likely to endorse self-defense self-efficacy. Results were then explored through the lens of cultural, gender, intersectional, and community-based contexts. Future research needs and implications are discussed.

Gloss to the Judgment of the Supreme Court of 12 January 2022, III CZP 78/22

Abstract The judgment of the Supreme Court commented on here was devoted to the limitation of claims. One of the members of the partnership (the general partner) violated the non-competition clause and caused damage to the partnership. Another member (the limited partner) sued him for compensation for this damage. The Supreme Court adopted a resolution specifying the beginning of the limitation period for a claim to redress the damage caused. The legal assessment of the Supreme Court is correct. If the violation of the prohibition of competition consists in repeated behaviour, the claims of a partner provided for shall expire after six months from the date when all other partners became aware of the violation, but not later than after three years, counted separately for each behaviour.

Community-based HIV testing through a general health check event in a high HIV-prevalent multicultural area in Rotterdam, The Netherlands: a pilot study on feasibility and acceptance

BackgroundHIV testing is crucial for finding the remaining cases in a declining HIV epidemic in The Netherlands; providing HIV testing in non-traditional settings may be warranted. We conducted a pilot study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a community-based HIV testing (CBHT) approach with general health checks to improve HIV test uptake.MethodsCBHT’s main conditions were low-threshold, free-of-charge, general health check, and HIV education. We interviewed 6 community leaders, 25 residents, and 12 professionals/volunteers from local organizations to outline these main conditions. Walk-in test events were piloted at community organizations, providing HIV testing along with body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood glucose screening, and HIV education (October 2019 to February 2020). Demographics, HIV testing history, risk perception, and sexual contact were collected via questionnaires. To evaluate the pilots’ feasibility and acceptance, we utilized the RE-AIM framework and predefined goals, incorporating quantitative data from the test events and qualitative input from participants, organizations, and staff.ResultsA total of 140 individuals participated (74% women, 85% non-Western, median age 49 years old). The number of participants during the seven 4-h test events ranged from 10 to 31. We tested 134 participants for HIV, and one was found positive (positivity 0.75%). Almost 90% of the participants were never tested or > 1 year ago, and 90% perceived no HIV risk. One-third of the participants had one or more abnormal test results on BMI, blood pressure, or blood glucose. The pilot was well-rated and accepted by all parties. The staff had concerns about waiting time, language problems, and privacy. Participants hardly indicated these concerns.ConclusionsThis CBHT approach is feasible, acceptable, and well-suited for testing not (recently) tested individuals and detecting new cases. Besides reducing HIV-associated stigma and increasing HIV test acceptance, offering multiple health tests may be appropriate as we frequently observed multiple health problems. Whether this laborious approach is sustainable in the micro-elimination of HIV and should be deployed on a large scale is questionable. CBHT like ours may be suitable as a supplement to more sustainable and cost-effective methods, e.g., proactive HIV testing by general practitioners and partner notification.

Has persistence persisted in private equity? Evidence from buyout and venture capital funds

This paper presents new evidence on performance persistence for U.S. private equity (buyout and venture capital) funds. We use high quality cash-flow data from Burgiss's large sample of institutional investors (as of December 2020) which allows us to examine how persistence has changed over more than three decades of fundraising. Venture capital (VC) performance remains remarkably persistent across funds raised by the same general partner (GP). In contrast, buyout funds' performance persistence becomes noticeably weaker over time. The patterns are different when we restrict the analysis to information that would have been available to investors – interim performance on the previous fund at the time a new fund is raised – rather than using final, or latest, performance. We find little evidence of persistence for buyouts, especially post-2000. We continue to find persistence for VC funds though it declines post-2000. The differences are driven by interim performance reported at the time of fundraising being only moderately correlated to final performance and GPs avoiding fundraising when interim performance is poor. Finally, we look at GPs who introduce new fund styles and find that performance is noticeably lower for buyouts (but not VC). Exploring the reasons for these divergent trends in persistence between buyout and VC is a promising area for future research.

An exploration of potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation of PTSD symptoms for military couples.

In the context of service member posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intimate partners may experience pressure to take over parenting roles and run interference between the service member and the children; that is, to engage in partner accommodation focal to parenting. The current study quantitatively assessed potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation (PPEPA) in a sample of 207 female partners married to male service members with at least one child in the home and the convergence of PPEPA with service member PTSD symptoms, general partner accommodation, couple functioning, parenting, and child functioning. Partners' reports of PPEPA were associated with higher levels of service member PTSD symptoms and partners' general accommodation of PTSD symptoms. When controlling for service member PTSD symptoms and general partner accommodation, partner reports of PPEPA still accounted for unique variance in lower parenting alliance (as reported by both service member and partner), lower levels of service members' reports of closeness with children in the home, higher levels of harsh parenting by both the service member and partner, and greater child behavioral difficulties. Findings support PPEPA as related to partners' accommodative responses to PTSD but demonstrating unique associations with parenting alliance, parenting, and child outcomes. Parenting interventions in the context of PTSD may benefit from conjoint or family approaches that attend to the intersection of PTSD and broader family functioning, including pressures to engage in accommodation focal to the parenting domain.

A Comparison of Sexual Minority and Heterosexual College Students on Gendered Sexual Scripts and Sexual Coercion Perpetration.

Prior work has identified endorsement of gendered sexual script beliefs as predictive of sexual coercion perpetration among heterosexual individuals, primarily men. This research is lacking among sexual minority individuals and may be important in informing inclusive and effective sexual coercion prevention efforts. The current study sought to (1) assess the level of adherence to gendered sexual script beliefs, (2) report relative rates of general sexual coercion and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), and (3) examine the relationship between gendered sexual script beliefs and self-reported sexually coercive behavior among sexual minority and heterosexual college men and women. Undergraduate students (n = 1,199; 182 sexual minorities) completed self-report measures assessing gendered sexual script beliefs, sexual coercion perpetration, and sexual IPV. Results from Gender × Sexual Minority group ANOVAs and logistic regression analyses indicated similar rates of perpetration across sexual orientation groups, with men overall reporting the most perpetration. Furthermore, men and heterosexual individuals adhered more strongly to gendered sexual scripts than women and sexual minority individuals, respectively. Results of path models revealed no moderation by sexual orientation, and that adherence to gendered sexual scripts was positively related to sexual IPV perpetration among the full sample of heterosexual and nonheterosexual individuals, though this effect was small. Gendered sexual scripts did not significantly relate to general sexual coercion perpetration among the full sample, suggesting that traditional sexual script beliefs may not be as relevant to perpetration in a contemporary college sample. This study adds to limited literature on sexual coercion perpetration among sexual minority individuals and is an important step in understanding relationships between endorsement of gendered sexual script beliefs and sexual coercion perpetration among sexual minority and heterosexual college students.

Private Debt Fund Returns, Persistence, and Market Conditions

This paper examines net-of-fees private debt fund performance, performance persistence across funds managed by the same general partner and a general partner’s ability to time the market. We document that private debt funds outperform bond and equity market benchmarks in the cross-section, with high performance dispersion across strategies and performance quartiles. Lagged performance significantly affects current fund performance. While ex ante and ex post credit market conditions strongly affect fund performance, general partners can only partially time them.

Tram to Pedestrian Collisions—Priorities and Potentials

To improve mobility in cities in line with environmental goals, in urban traffic, trams represent an increasingly important means of transport. Due to the close interaction with other road users, this makes collisions with trams fairly frequent. This study has investigated accidents between trams and vulnerable road users resulting in personal injury, aimed at identifying priorities for simulating collisions between trams and pedestrians to assess passive safety measures. Tram accident data collection established throughout Europe from multiple sources and with varying degree of details, have been combined and analysed. These analyses comprise risk assessments per km-driven and general tram accident partner and site type evaluations, with more detailed analyses on accident site distance to the closest tram stop and injured body regions, respectively. In total, 7,535 tram-pedestrian accident resulting in 8,802 pedestrian injuries, collected in the year 2000–2021, was analysed. Accident risk ranges from 0.934 accidents per number of tram (million) km-driven, for slight injuries to 0.063 for fatal injuries. Pedestrians represent a large proportion of tram accident collision partners, especially for severe and fatal accidents. In accidents between trams and pedestrians, 3% of reported injuries are fatal, 23% severe and 74% minor. Generally, low-speed accidents close to tram stops often leading to minor injuries were observed to be of significant importance (<20m to the GPS location of a stop). Analysis of accidents was done bases on gender of the pedestrian showing overall similar involvements in accident with slight difference for various age groups and sites. Regardless of injury severity, the most frequently injured body region in accidents involving a tram is the head. Likewise, injuries sustained to the thorax, especially for higher injury severities are of high relevance, followed by injuries to the lower extremities. Based on this study, recommendations for developing reasonable tram-pedestrian accident scenarios for virtual testing can be derived for further optimisation of pedestrian safety of trams.

Varieties of funds and performance: the case of private equity

ABSTRACT Within the growing body of literature on private equity, there is intense controversy as to whether, and by how much, the industry really adds value. However, much of the diversity in results can be ascribed to a tendency to focus on a subset of private equity fund types of venture capital and buyout funds or combine very different fund types. This study identifies and explores variations in performance according to eleven different types of fund, providing a much more fine-grained picture than preceding studies. We evidence considerable heterogeneity in performance results between fund types, with funds typically associated with riskier areas of activity having divergent outcomes and generally underperforming compared to buyout funds. We also find that all eleven fund types outperform the stock market when evaluating PMEs. We explore why underperforming fund types continue to attract significant investment. We apply agency theory to help understand general partner behaviour in private equity partnerships and building on the literature on the economics of expectation and of systemic evolution to explain limited partner behaviour, draw out the implications for theory and practice. Highlights An analysis of the relationship between a much wider range of PE fund types than preceding studies, and performance. Explanatory application of agency, expectations, and evolutionary theories. We evidence considerable heterogeneity in the performance of different types of fund. Funds typically associated with riskier areas of activity generally underperform buyout funds. We explore possible explanations behind mediocre or superior returns for specific fund types and why levels of return for some exhibit much more diversity than others.

Violences sexuelles entre partenaires intimes : caractéristiques et enjeux cliniques

IntroductionIntimate partner sexual violence is identified as a common form of intimate partner violence. It is also the most widespread form of sexual violence in the world, with one woman in four affected during her lifetime. In France, couple relationships appear to be the area of life most at risk of sexual victimization in adulthood. However, our understanding of this phenomenon is limited, with few targeted studies in the international literature and very little data in France. Most studies tend to focus on sexual violence in general or intimate partner violence in general, without exploring in depth the characteristics and issues of sexual violence when committed by a partner. While intimate partner violence is a major public health issue, what do we know about intimate partner sexual violence and how can we use this information to provide a better support for victims? ObjectivesThe aim of this article is to summarize the current state of the art about intimate partner sexual violence, along two major lines: a descriptive line, focusing on the nature, extent, and expressions of sexual violence in couples, as well as its clinical effects; and a food-for-thought line, focusing on the identification of issues likely to contribute to the harmful power of intimate partner sexual violence. Materials and methodsArticles were selected from referenced databases, such as PubMed, PsycInfo and Web of Science. The terms “intimate partner sexual violence” and “intimate partner rape” were used as first choice, and then the keywords “intimate partner violence; domestic violence; domestic abuse; intimate partner; relationship; battered women; spouse; wife; marital” were cross-referenced with the terms “rape; sexual violence; sexual abuse; sexual coercion; unwanted sex; forced sex”. The search for articles was carried out between February 2021 and May 2021. ResultsThe literature tends to indicate that intimate partner sexual violence develops mainly in relationships already marked by violence. It appears to be co-occurring with physical and psychological violence by the partner elsewhere in the relationship, but also simultaneously with the abuses. Intimate partner sexual violence is repetitive and has multiple expressions: their reality extends beyond intimate partner rape. They seem to be associated with unique deleterious effects for the victims, and could be an indicator of the severity of the overall situation of intimate partner violence, with increased post-traumatic and depressive symptomatology, as well as a greater number of deaths by suicide and homicide. However, they are still perceived as less serious than sexual violence by a non-partner or a stranger, both by society and by the women affected. This discrepancy between the seriousness of sexual violence between partners and its global and individual perception is to put into perspective with the dysfunctional dynamics of sexual consent in violent relationships. However, the research is scarce, and more studies are needed to provide a better understanding of the numerous aspects of intimate partner sexual violence. ConclusionsThe clinical reality of intimate partner sexual violence is both worrying and poorly understood. It must be recognized and addressed in treatment because of its traumatic potential and its power regarding psychological confusion for the victims. The current state of knowledge indicates that asking women who have experienced violence from their partner about sexual violence is an essential part of practice. The professionals in contact with this public must be properly trained to be able to provide adequate responses.

Secretome-based screening of fusion partners and their application in recombinant protein secretion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

For the efficient production of heterologous proteins in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we screened for a novel fusion partner from the yeast secretome. From twenty major proteins identified from the yeast secretome, we selected Scw4p, a cell wall protein with similarity to glucanase, and modified to develop a general fusion partner for the secretory expression of heterologous proteins in yeast. The optimal size of the SCW4 gene to act as an efficient fusion partner was determined by C-terminal truncation analysis; two of the variants, S1 (truncated at codon 115Q) and S2 (truncated at codon 142E), were further used for the secretion of heterologous proteins. When fused with S2, the secretion of three target proteins (hGH, exendin-4, and hPTH) significantly increased. Conserved O-glycosylation sites (Ser/Thr-rich domain) and hydrophilic sequences of S2 were deemed important for the function of S2 as a secretion fusion partner. Approximately 5g/L of the S2-exendin-4 fusion protein was obtained from fed-batch fermentation. Intact target proteins were easily purified by affinity chromatography after in vitro processing of the fusion partner. This system may be of general application for the secretory production of heterologous proteins in S. cerevisiae. KEY POINTS : • Target proteins were efficiently secreted with their N-terminus fused to Scw4p. • O-glycosylation and hydrophilic stretches in Scw4p were important for protein secretion. • A variant of Scw4p (S2) was successfully applied for the secretory expression of heterologous proteins.

Analyzing trends and opportunities in the advanced therapy tool and service provider sectors

David Anderson is a General Partner at Ampersand Capital Partners, Boston, MA. David joined Ampersand in 2010 and participates across many sectors in healthcare but with a special focus on CDMOs and biopharma services in the cell and gene therapy arena. David’s current and past board seats include Accuratus, BioClinica, Arranta Bio, Brammer Bio, Elite One Source, Stage Bio, Cellero, Vibalogics, and Genezen. David holds a BSc from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, a PhD in Cancer Immunology from the University of Sheffield, England and an MBA from Babson College, MA.

Capital Structure and Leverage in Private Equity Buyouts

Private equity capital structures have evolved over time as financial markets and PE firms have created new ways to attract debt capital. In addition to borrowing by individual portfolio companies, debt is being backed by the fund or the general partner, producing different incentive and risk‐sharing features.The use of leverage has been a central feature of the PE model by, first of all, making possible a concentrated ownership position. Studies show that this model has created value for investors and can improve management of the underlying assets. What's more, PE's demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the potential costs of financial distress created by leverage is viewed as evidence of its “comparative advantage” in managing high leverage—one that effectively enables PE‐backed firms to take on higher levels of debt than comparable public companies. Nevertheless, PE structures have the potential to introduce agency conflicts of interests and incentives between GPs and LPs that may be managed with only partial success through contractual arrangements.The outcomes of capital structure decisions in PE vary considerably across the cycle, with rises and falls in leverage and concomitant changes in investment and returns. A number of studies offer explanations of the highly cyclical nature of private equity activity, suggesting that institutional features combined with macroeconomic cycles are to some degree “hardwired” into the industry.In providing evidence of continuing PE outperformance of public companies, the authors also show that the relationship between debt and performance depends on how leverage is measured. When debt is measured as a percentage of deal value, higher leverage is associated with higher average returns, reflecting the positive risk‐return trade‐off that basic finance theory would predict. But when leverage is measured as a multiple of EBITDA—as industry practitioners tend to do—the relationship with performance is weak and negative, suggesting that companies with high debt‐to‐value ratios are more likely to be mature “value” firms, whereas companies with high leverage ratios tilt towards “growth.”

The value of tunneling: Evidence from master limited partnership formations

AbstractShareholders of publicly traded subsidiaries are potentially susceptible to expropriation (tunneling) by parent companies (Atanasov et al., 2010). A recent study suggests that this is particularly true among US master limited partnerships (MLPs), where there is often a substantial divergence between the control rights and cash‐flow rights of parent firms, through their general partner interests (Atanassov & Mandell, 2018). Although the negative impact of tunneling on controlled firms is documented in the literature, little is known about the valuation consequences of tunneling for shareholders of parent corporations. Changes to the MLP agency environment over the prior two decades—namely, the allowance of modifications to a fiduciary duty under Delaware law and the introduction of incentive distribution rights—have likely increased the incentive and opportunity for tunneling and provide a rich setting for addressing this question. I examine the effects of changing tunneling incentives on stock returns of parent corporations announcing the formation of MLPs and document significantly higher announcement period returns for MLP formations after these changes, amounting to roughly $188 million of additional value for shareholders of forming corporations, on average. Considered in concert with additional testing, this suggests that parent corporation shareholders benefit from the increased ability to tunnel MLP assets.

ADAPTATION STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP SOCIAL COMPARISON SCALE

Current study was aimed to translate Relationship Social Comparison Measure (RSCM) into Turkish and test psychometric properties of the Turkish version. RSCM was originally developed as a one factor scale by LeBeau and Buckingham (2008) in order to assess the frequency of relationship social comparison and circumstances under which comparison occur. However, principal component factor analyses suggested two factor solutions, namely General Tendency (= .94) and Partner Attributions (= .86), showing the presence of two constructs tapping different aspects of relationship social comparison. Suggested factor structure of RSCM was also tested with a confirmatory factor analysis, and results supported the two-factor solution (S-B χ 2 (167) = 275.13, p = .00, S-B χ2/df = 1.65, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .05, 90% CI [.04, .06]). The Turkish version of RSCM has high internal reliability as its original form (= .94). Moreover, the results strongly supported convergent validity with relationship satisfaction, investment, and quality of alternatives. Adaptation of RSCM in Turkish will provide an important tool for studies related to RSC in Turkey with strong psychometric properties. By doing so, it was expected to make scientific contributions to the studies related to romantic relationships in Turkey.

The Evolution of Private Equity Fund Value

This article provides the first large-sample analysis of buyout and venture capital fund values over their lifetimes. Specifically, the authors examine fund future investment multiples (TVPIs), internal rates of return (IRRs), and direct alphas based on the current reported net asset values (NAVs) at each year of a fund’s life. Using a sample of 1,400 mature buyout and VC funds, they find that the typical fund experiences a falloff in future returns after it is about seven to eight years old. However, the remaining performance is highly variable for funds of all ages, and the dispersion in returns also tends to increase after funds are about eight years old. They examine the cross-sectional determinants of the remaining fund value and find that several fund-specific and market-wide factors determine future performance and that these vary by type and age of fund. For example, young funds tend to be harmed by high market-wide dry powder levels, whereas older funds appear to benefit. <b>TOPICS:</b>Private equity, performance measurement <b>Key Findings</b> ▪ The typical fund experiences a falloff in returns after it is about seven to eight years old. This is true for both VC and buyout funds. ▪ Contrary to common wisdom, the cross-sectional dispersion of fund performance measured by future internal rate of return and direct alpha tends to increase, not decrease, for funds more than five years old. ▪ A wide variety of market-wide and fund-specific factors predict future fund performance. These include to-date distributions, dry powder, previous fund performance, fund size, general partner fundraising activity, previous public market stock returns, and credit spreads. Relevant factors are different for VC funds and buyout funds and can vary systematically over funds’ life cycles.