How big is a mega fund?
Private Equity Mega-Fund Definition: The “mega-fund” PE firms tend to have ~$100 billion or more in assets under management (AUM) and individual fund sizes of $10-15+ billion, and they execute deals with an average size of $1+ billion; these firms are also highly diversified in terms of geographies, industries, asset ...
In general, mega-funds are private equity funds with the largest assets under management. There is no strict cutoff for assets in this regard, but the PE mega funds are usually enormous with several billion in assets under management.
Most people would say that the private equity mega-funds do deals with an average size of $1 billion+ and have individual funds that are ~$10-15 billion+ in size. Based on that, the most commonly cited names in this category are Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, Apollo, and TPG.
Below the category of mega funds is the Upper Middle Market, which is a broad range that typically refers to fund sizes >$5B. This would include funds like Berkshire Partners, American Securities, and ABRY. Most of these funds would typically deploy $200-$500mm per investment.
The higher the assets under management, the higher the carried interest. Although exact numbers are scarce for managing partners at megafunds with over $10bn in AUM, Heidrick & Struggle's data suggest that an MD at such a fund could earn $100m at such a firm in carried interest.
Size | AuM | Total Number of Funds |
---|---|---|
Small | US$10-100m (average US$37m) | 4,654 |
Mid-sized | US$101-500m (average US$232m) | 2,004 |
Large | >US$500m (average US$693m) | 787 |
Super-large | 10 largest hedge funds (average US$7,721m) | 10 |
mid-cap: market value between $2 billion and $10 billion; small-cap: market value between $250 million and $2 billion; and. micro-cap: market value of less than $250 million.
Any profits over and above 10% shall be split between the General Partner & Limited Partner using a ratio of 20% for the General Partner and the remaining 80% for the Limited Partner.
Private Equity Mega-Fund Definition: The “mega-fund” PE firms tend to have ~$100 billion or more in assets under management (AUM) and individual fund sizes of $10-15+ billion, and they execute deals with an average size of $1+ billion; these firms are also highly diversified in terms of geographies, industries, asset ...
The Rule of 72 is a convenient method to estimate the approximate time for invested capital to double in value. By merely taking the number 72 and dividing it by the rate of return (or interest rate) expected to be earned, the output is the approximate number of years for an investment to double.
Is Carlyle a Megafund?
The Carlyle Group Inc. is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and private credit. It is one of the largest mega-funds in the world.
- Blackstone Inc. AUM. $1.0 trillion. Headquarters. ...
- Apollo Global Management, Inc. AUM. $598 billion. Headquarters. ...
- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. AUM. $510 billion. ...
- The Carlyle Group. AUM. $381 billion. ...
- Bain Capital LP. AUM. $165 billion. ...
- TPG Capital. AUM. $137 billion. ...
- Thoma Bravo LP. AUM. $127 billion. ...
- Silver Lake. AUM. $98 billion.
On the whole, middle market firms tend to be smaller than their megafund peers (excluding outliers mentioned above), and may have a more regional or specialized focus (like a target industry). In contrast, megafund private equity firms typically invest in larger companies with enterprise values of $1 billion or more.
It's normally paid once the fund has returned invested capital and achieved its hurdle rate for the entire fund – otherwise, clawbacks might be required. Compensation reports often list lump-sum dollar amounts, such as an “average” of $2 million of carry for VPs or $3 million for Principals.
Annual Salary | Weekly Pay | |
---|---|---|
Top Earners | $241,298 | $4,640 |
75th Percentile | $187,500 | $3,605 |
Average | $143,004 | $2,750 |
25th Percentile | $113,500 | $2,182 |
The estimated total pay for a Partner at Goldman Sachs is $559,598 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $225,120 per year.
' is - the company's having revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. At the same time, some define the middle market for private equity as firms with revenues between $25 million and $1 billion. Usually, large market private equity deals are $1 billion or more.
If the fund attracts too much money, the fund manager may have trouble purchasing additional large blocks of thinly traded shares without driving up their prices by doing so. Performance may slip as the fund manager struggles to find new stock picks.
So, there's no exact cutoff, but a good definition for middle market private equity would be firms that acquire companies valued between $50 million and $500 million. These firms mainly focus on operational and growth improvements, but do also use leverage in deals.
The median venture fund raised in 2023 in the U.S. jumped to $37.4 million, up 44% from the median of $26 million in 2022, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report. That median size is at a high for the past decade.
Is it better to invest in large-cap or small cap?
Large-cap funds are usually less volatile unless there is some news. They are stable and provide good liquidity and good returns. Mid-cap funds have moderate volatility and moderate liquidity. Small-caps stocks are more volatile and have less liquidity.
A large fund size would mean a lower expense ratio per person which in turn gets reflected in the fund returns. Also, if the fund house has a larger fund size or assets under management, it helps in negotiating better with the debt issuers courtesy the size.
The minimum investment in private equity funds is typically $25 million, although it sometimes can be as low as $250,000. Investors should plan to hold their private equity investment for at least 10 years.
The rule states that if a stock breaks out from a proper base and gains 20% or more in three weeks or less, you should hold it for at least eight weeks. It's normal for a stock to pull back after breaking out, so don't panic unless the stock starts to give back the bulk of its gains.
You can safely withdraw 8% per year of the money that you allocate towards The 8% Rule strategy; twice as much as the standard 4% rule. Example: if you have $100,000 to invest, the 4% rule will give you $4000/year whereas The 8% Rule will give you $8000/year - an extra $333 each month!
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