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 in all · 24 check questions · free, no sign-up

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

By the end you can

Explain who the GP and the LPs are, and what each one risks
Follow a fund from first close to final close, and through its investment period to the end of its term
Read a fund’s fee and carry terms, and see where the money goes in a waterfall
Tell DPI from TVPI and IRR, and know why a young fund’s numbers look worse than they are

Lessons

Take them in order

0 of 8 lessons done

Two sides of a fund: the GP and the LPs5 min
Not done
Raising the fund: documents and closes5 min
Not done
Commitments and capital calls5 min
Not done
The life of a fund: invest, own, sell, wind up5 min
Not done
What investors pay: the management fee5 min
Not done
Carried interest and the waterfall6 min
Not done
Getting money back, and the J-curve4 min
Not done
Keeping score: DPI, TVPI and IRR6 min
Not done

How it works

Read a lesson, then answer its questions: each answer shows why it is right. A lesson is done when its questions are answered. Finish them all for a certificate you can print. Progress is kept in this browser only; nothing is sent anywhere. Every lesson lists the public pages its facts were checked against.