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Using 2007/2008 studies to defend the 2010s behavior of an industry doesn’t really make sense. Imagine using a 2007 annual report to make a case, today, for why

• JumpCrisscross 6y ago
  > Using 2007/2008 studies to defend the 2010s behavior of an industry doesn’t really make sense In this case, it does. Bain was prominent in that time. In a vacuum of data, something is better than nothing. Post-crisis private equity is more sober than 2000-2007. It was only about a year ago that we reached leverage ratios approaching those of the last decade's peak [1]. On a cash flow basis, most of this decade was subdued compared with that period [2]. > you work in private equity I work on the venture capital end of the private equity spectrum. Not comparable to whole-company leveraged buyouts of Bain's style. There are valid criticisms of private equity. It weaponizes the tax deductibility of interest, which I don't think funds should be able to use. Its fee structures are opaque. And its largest deals tend to be destructive. But heightened frequency of bankruptcy is not sustained by any data I've come across. [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/leverage-climbs/leverage-levels-peaking-again-on-us-mega-buyouts-idUSL1N2190M2 https://www.reuters.com/article/leverage-climbs/leverage-lev... [2] https://www.intuition.com/have-private-equity-valuations-reached-bubble-levels/ https://www.intuition.com/have-private-equity-valuations-rea...