Introduction to PE Part 1: More Than Just Equations
Cyril Demaria started this book because he couldn’t find anything good to read about private equity. Most of what was out there just didn’t make sense. It didn’t match what actually happens in the real world.
He’s right about that. There are more books now, but a lot of them are still stuck in old theories. Academics try to use tools designed for public stocks to analyze private deals. It just doesn’t work.
Think about it like this. Public stocks have tons of data. You can see the price change every second. But private equity is different. It’s not just about math. You can’t just put everything into an equation and expect a perfect answer.
One big thing people get wrong is liquidity. In the stock market, you can sell your shares anytime. In private equity, your money is locked up for years. Many experts call this a risk, but Demaria says it’s just a variable. It’s just how the game is played.
Private equity has also grown way beyond just “equity” now. It includes private debt and real assets like infrastructure. They all work together, but they’re not a perfect, harmonious picture. It’s more like a puzzle where some pieces don’t quite fit.
We’ll look at those pieces as we go through this series.