Risk Attitudes and Private Business Equity

The Risk Appetite of Private Equity Sponsors

Using a unique proprietary data set of 460 realized buyouts completed between 1990 and 2005, we examine the risk appetite of private equity (PE) sponsors in different states of the PE market and analyse key determinants of deal-level equity risk. We develop a new approach to mathematically model PE investment equity risk based on the Black-Cox default model. We find higher equity volatilities d...

Forecasting Crash risk using Business Strategy, Equity Overvaluation and Conditional Skewness in Stock Price

A firm is called to have stock price crash risk if the firm has a tendency to experience a sudden drop in its stock price. In this study, the relation between the firm-level of business strategy and future stock price crash risk Is examined, as well as the effect of stock overvaluation on the relationship between business strategy and crash risk investigated. Using the strategy index and crash ...

The Cash Flow, Return and Risk Characteristics of Private Equity

Using a unique dataset of private equity funds over the last two decades, this paper analyzes the cash flow, return, and risk characteristics of private equity. Unlike previous studies, we have detailed cash flow data for each fund, rather than aggregate or accounting returns. We also know the exact timing of investments and capital returns to investors and the number and types of companies eac...

Private Equity and Industry Performance

The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its impact on the economy. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. We find that industries where private equity funds invest grow more quickly in terms of total production and employment, and appear less exposed to aggregate shocks. We perform a number o...

Investing in Private Equity