Academy

Short lessons to take in order, each with a worked example, check questions and its sources. Your progress stays in this browser.

1. Course 1 · Beginner

   How a private fund works, start to finish

   Eight short lessons in the order of a fund’s life, from the day it is raised to the day it winds up. Each one has a worked example, a short video where we have one, and three questions to check yourself.

   8 lessons · about 41 minutes · 24 check questions · a certificate at the end

   Start the courseLesson 1: Two sides of a fund: the GP and the LPs

2. Course 2 · Intermediate

   Reading fund performance

   Seven short lessons on the numbers investors use to judge a private fund: what each one measures, what it leaves out, and how to read them together. Each has a worked example and three questions to check yourself.

   7 lessons · about 35 minutes · 21 check questions · a certificate at the end

   Start the courseLesson 1: Paid in, paid out, still held

3. Course 3 · Intermediate

   Private credit in eight lessons

   Eight short lessons on lending outside the banks: who borrows, who lends, how the loans are priced and protected, what happens when they go wrong, and the fund structures investors use to get in. Each has a worked example and three questions to check yourself.

   8 lessons · about 41 minutes · 24 check questions · a certificate at the end

   Start the courseLesson 1: What private credit is, and why it grew

A market from the beginning, one term at a time, in order. Each step is a plain definition, with a short video where we have one.

• Private markets 101

  Private markets in ten steps: GPs and LPs, the main asset classes, closed-end and evergreen funds, capital calls, fees and carry, the J-curve and vintage years.

  1. 1What private markets are
  2. 2GPs and LPs
  3. 3The main asset classes
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4Closed-end and evergreen funds
  5. 5Commitments and capital calls
  6. 6Fees and carry
  7. 7How investors get paid
  8. 8The J-curve
  9. 9Vintage years
  10. 10Where to go next
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Private equity 101

  How a private equity fund works, in ten steps: the LPA, capital calls, fees, carried interest, the waterfall, the J-curve, exits and wind-down.

  1. 1What a private equity fund is
  2. 2The LPA
  3. 3Capital calls
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4Management fees
  5. 5Carried interest
  6. 6The distribution waterfall
  7. 7The J-curve
  8. 8Holding and growing a company
  9. 9Exits and distributions
  10. 10Fund life and wind-down
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Private credit 101

  How private credit works, in ten steps: direct lending, senior and junior debt, floating rates, covenants, asset-based finance, defaults, CLOs and NAV loans.

  1. 1What private credit is
  2. 2Direct lending and the unitranche
  3. 3Senior and subordinated debt
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4What a lender earns
  5. 5Covenants
  6. 6Asset-based finance
  7. 7Default and recovery
  8. 8CLOs
  9. 9NAV loans and fund finance
  10. 10How investors in a credit fund are paid
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Venture capital 101

  Venture capital in ten steps: rounds and valuation, SAFEs, runway, the power law, liquidation preferences, down rounds, paper value and exits.

  1. 1What venture capital is
  2. 2How a venture fund works
  3. 3Rounds and valuation
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4SAFEs and convertible notes
  5. 5Burn rate and runway
  6. 6Why a few winners carry a fund
  7. 7Liquidation preferences
  8. 8Down rounds and anti-dilution
  9. 9Paper value and cash back
  10. 10Exits and early liquidity
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Real estate 101

  Private real estate in ten steps: core to opportunistic, cap rates, leases, loan-to-value, DSCR, ground leases, valuations, open-ended funds and exits.

  1. 1What private real estate is
  2. 2Core to opportunistic
  3. 3Cap rates and net operating income
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4Leases and triple net
  5. 5Borrowing against a building
  6. 6Covering the loan payments
  7. 7Ground leases
  8. 8How buildings are valued
  9. 9Closed-end and open-ended funds
  10. 10Selling and getting paid
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Infrastructure 101

  Private infrastructure in ten steps: core to opportunistic, greenfield, concessions, availability payments, take-or-pay, power contracts and long-life funds.

  1. 1What infrastructure is
  2. 2Core to opportunistic
  3. 3Greenfield and brownfield
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4Concessions
  5. 5Demand risk and availability payments
  6. 6Take-or-pay contracts
  7. 7Power purchase agreements
  8. 8How the assets are valued
  9. 9Long-life and open-ended funds
  10. 10Cash along the way and the J-curve
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Secondaries 101

  Secondaries in ten steps: LP-led and GP-led deals, NAV and discounts, deferred payments, unfunded commitments, continuation vehicles and tender offers.

  1. 1What secondaries are
  2. 2LP-led secondaries
  3. 3NAV, the starting point
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4Discounts and premiums
  5. 5Deferred payments
  6. 6Taking over what is still owed
  7. 7GP-led secondaries
  8. 8Continuation vehicles
  9. 9Tender offers
  10. 10Buying later in a fund’s life
  Start the track, 10 steps

• Hedge funds 101

  Hedge funds in ten steps: long/short, leverage, fees and the high-water mark, lock-ups and gates, side pockets, prime brokers, alpha and beta, Sharpe ratio.

  1. 1What a hedge fund is
  2. 2Long and short
  3. 3Leverage and margin calls
  See steps 4 to 10Fewer steps

  4. 4Fees: two and twenty
  5. 5Lock-ups, notice and gates
  6. 6Side pockets
  7. 7Prime brokers
  8. 8Alpha and beta
  9. 9Drawdowns
  10. 10How investors judge a manager
  Start the track, 10 steps

One term in under a minute, with the words written out beneath.

• Why good funds look bad in year two
• 10 business days to wire $2M: the capital call
• Both doubled your money. One was far better.
• You can't spend TVPI
• Same fund, different deal: the side letter
• The manager sold the company. To itself.

Each term defined in a sentence, with a simple example and why it matters. Search them all in the box above, or browse by subject.

Free picture books about private markets, to read on a phone or an iPad.

• The ABCs of Private Equity · Brock the badger helps small companies grow
• The ABCs of Private Credit · Olive the owl lends money and looks after it carefully
• The ABCs of Venture Capital · Sadie the squirrel plants small ideas and helps them grow
• The ABCs of Real Estate · Stanley the snail knows all about buildings. He carries one.
• The ABCs of Infrastructure · Bea the beaver builds what a town relies on
• Tilda and the Orchard · A story about patient money