Books
Patient Capital: The Challenges and Promises of Long-Term Investing
by Victoria Ivashina (Author), Josh Lerner (Author)
There has never been a greater need for long-term investments to tackle the world’s most difficult problems, such as climate change and decaying infrastructure. And it is increasingly unlikely that the public sector will be willing or able to fill this gap. If these critical needs are to be met, the major pools of long-term, patient capital―including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and wealthy individuals and families―will have to play a large role. In this accessible and authoritative account of long-term capital investment, two leading experts on the subject, Harvard Business School professors Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner, highlight the significant hurdles facing long-term investors and propose concrete ways to overcome these difficulties.
‘Private Equity’ is an advanced applied corporate finance book with a mixture of chapters devoted to exploring a range of topics from a private equity investor’s perspective. The goal is to understand why and which practices are likely to deliver sustained profitability in the future. The book is a collection of cases based on actual investment decisions at different stages for process tackled by experienced industry professionals. The majority of the chapters deal with growth equity and buyout investments. However, a range of size targets and investments in different geographical markets are covered as well. These markets include several developed economies and emerging markets like China, Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Argentina. This compilation of cases is rich in institutional details, information about different markets, and segments of the industry as well as different players and their investment practices – it is a unique insight into the key alternative asset class.
Book Reviews
Patient Capital: The Challenges and Promises of Long-Term Investing
“The antidote for short-term horizons in public markets is long-term investment in private markets. In Patient Capital, Ivashina and Lerner survey the private equity world, employing an engaging combination of captivating anecdotes and solid academic research. A must-read for all who care about the future of capitalism.”
––David F. Swensen, Chief Investment Officer, Yale University
“You may not think your life depends on long-term investors, but it does–the health of your company’s pension plan, your state or country’s social security fund, indeed the very comfort of your retirement, depends on the success of long-term investing. In this very readable book, Ivashina and Lerner, two of the foremost experts on the subject, tell you what is going wrong, and how to set it right. It is a must-read for every anxious investor and every concerned taxpayer.”
––Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago
” ‘The trees that are slowest to grow bear the best fruit, ‘ Molière says. And that is why this lucid and refreshing account of how to overcome the barriers to long-term investment deserves the attention of pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments. After all, the potential fruits are not just quality returns, but significant benefits to society.”
––Dominique Senequier, President, Ardian
“Few scholarly, well-researched books have been written on long-term private investing. Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner have undertaken a real public service in writing what will undoubtedly become the definitive book on the subject. My only regret in reading this book is that I did not write it.”
––David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group
“Patient Capital is a compelling and thought-provoking book about an important but poorly understood aspect of finance–the role of long‐term investors in our capital markets. It will appeal to finance scholars; those who work for pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and the venture capital and private equity industries; and entrepreneurs who rely on them for financing.”
––Jeffrey R. Brown, Dean of the University of Illinois’s Gies College of Business and Investment Committee Chair for TIAA
“This book provides a thorough and thoughtful analysis of the role that patient, long-term capital plays in the economy. Ivashina and Lerner do a wonderful job of combining clear and intuitive explanations with entertaining anecdotes that keep the reader’s attention and make it easier to understand the underlying ideas. At every point their in-depth knowledge shines through and makes for a very enjoyable read.”
––Antoinette Schoar, Stewart C. Myers-Horn Family Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship, MIT
Private Equity: A Casebook
“It has been difficult for students and practitioners to find good materials on investing in private equity. Until now! In this book, Gompers, Ivashina, and Ruback have compiled exciting and clearly written cases and notes on sourcing, valuing, structuring, and managing private equity investments.”
––Steven Neil Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, University of Chicago
“Professors Gompers, Ivashina, and Ruback have compiled an insightful, thorough, and useful compendium of private equity techniques from valuation to structuring to firm management. The thoughtful practitioner will enjoy having this book not only as a reference but also as an opportunity to review case studies where theory is put into practice.”
––Michael S. Berk, Managing Director, TA Associates
“Professors Gompers, Ivashina, and Ruback bring forth the depth and complexity of the growth equity and private equity deal-making process from the real-life perspectives of important industry participants. The professors’ structured view of the often unstructured and intuitive world of these risk capital providers makes this casebook an essential tool for educators, researchers, and others with a professional interest in the industry.”
––Bruce R. Evans, Senior Advisor, Former Managing Director, Summit Partners
“The incisive detail of each case brings alive the complex considerations, both financial and human, that are critical to investment value creation. As we all must embrace continuing education, this is an excellent book for investors, practitioners and students alike. After all, the day we believe we have nothing further to learn is the day we become fools.”
––Dominique Senequier, President, Ardian
“I have been an enthusiastic user of the authors’ cases for several years now. This compilation, supplemented with several new cases and very useful teaching notes on PE techniques and concepts, is a great resource for anyone wanting to teach a comprehensive and up-to-date course on private equity. PE has come a long way since the ‘Barbarians at the gate’ of the 1980s, and this volume provides a rich and balanced view of the exciting new world of private equity investing.”
––Per Strömberg, SSE Centennial Professor of Finance and Private Equity, Swedish House of Finance
“Private Equity is an invaluable tool for understanding how private equity investors conduct their craft with many real-life lessons to draw upon for new and emerging practitioners. The authors provide a road map for learning from many of the premier private equity firms and their landmark deals as well as insights on how the firms themselves execute the continuity of their business.”
––Darren Black, Managing Director, Summit Partners
“A fabulous resource for the aspiring private equity investment professional. Gompers, Ivashina, and Ruback strike a marvelous balance of being comprehensive, pragmatic, and nuanced without being overly technical or academic. I wish this book had been around when I was starting out––it would have definitely turbocharged my understanding of how to approach potential opportunities and what makes successful private equity deals work.”
––Andrew S. Janower, Managing Director, Charlesbank
“Private equity investing is both an art and a science, and certain investors appear to just have a ‘knack’ for picking winners. But this belies the discipline, diligence, and consistently strong processes that almost always inform such successful investors’ wise decisions. Gompers, Ivashina, and Ruback use compelling real-world examples to demonstrate the importance of such discipline throughout the ‘life cycle’ of successful private market transactions and provide the reader with many tools to develop their investment edge.”
––Neil Wallack, Founder and Managing Director, 1901 Partners
“Private equity is becoming a fundamental topic in finance. Understanding the way in which private equity deals can create value is becoming a necessity for every good MBA student. This casebook provides the basis for a course that illustrates the private equity model from fundraising to exiting.”
––Michael Weisbach, Ralph W. Kurtz Professor of Finance, Ohio State University
© Copyright Victoria Ivashina 2022