Customer Rating:  
Summary: Not particularly skillful or vital, but OK
Comment: Not a very balanced book, tending to press its own agenda instead. Written in a slightly repetitive and even, on occasion, condescending and presumptious tone. Overall a rather amateur effort that doesn't justify the price tag, though as a simple-to-read taster for the field I suppose it is acceptable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Private Equity made easy
Comment: I got an advanced copy of this text through a friend in publishing as I am currently undertaking a Business Masters; she felt that it might come in useful and I am only too glad that she did. This book is geared very much towards the reader and is consequently why I found a difficult and complex subject matter explained well in an amusing style, set out clearly without the 'fudging' and 'monotany' that many academic texts are presented. The glossary alone reveals a whole new world of knowledge I never before knew exsisted. No one can deny that Private Equity is an area that is rapidy progressing in the private investment sector, business reports in the past month have focused heavily on this, so the timing of this book is spot on and very current.
I strongly believe this is the only definitive textbook in the world on this subject, I am only aware of one other casebook by Josh Lerner, but nowhere else can you find chapter and verse on each and every aspect of this rapidly growing investment sector.
A must have certainly for any business or economics student and just as relevent for all those who work in the investement sector. Fraser-Sampson's book cannot have arrived at a more prudent time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Private Equity as an Asset Class
Comment: One cannot open a paper, or an online newspaper, these days without private equity being showcased.
The media, depending on its mood, swings between showcasing private equity as the hero or villain of business today. As anyone in the industry knows, private equity are two words which cover a wide range of firms, activities and individuals. It is difficult and wrong to draw generalised conclusions.
Guy in a well written and well timed release brings light to the private equity asset class and dissolves some of the myths being propagated by those who have little understanding of this industry. A must read for anyone new to the industry, and all those who seek to enter or comment on the industry.
Might I recommend that Guy ship a copy of this book to all the major papers in the UK, as it might shed some light on an industry which may in fact be on the "crest of a wave"; but will not be disappearing in the near future. Well, I hope not anyway - as its an industry that has much to offer to the world, especially the venture side.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly written ! Makes very easy reading out of what are very complex issues.
Comment: I have had the advantage of reading the manuscript of this book in advance, and one of the comments on the cover is my own.
Unlike other books on the subject, this one does not dive straight off into complicated areas such as return analysis, nor does it deal with such nebulous matters as the GP/LP relationship (indeed, the writer states that he considers this last topic to be something of a red herring). Instead, the book sets out to be a comprehensive account of private equity from first principles onwards, and will guide you steadily through the intricacies of the asset class until you find yourself quite happily using very complex analysis models to look at buyout and venture returns. More importantly, it focuses on explaining the principles which underlie all of this, so you will actually understand what you are doing, and why. As the writer says repeatedly "don't just look at the figures - try to think what lies behind them."
Fraser-Sampson has twenty years experience of the private equity industry, and the depth and range of his knowledge shines through every page. I was a great fan (and a reviewer) of his first book "Multi Asset Class Investment Strategy", and ideally they should be read together. The first explains why you should be allocating 25% of your portfolio to private equity, and this one explains how you should actually go about it. Just as the first one came up with a whole new way of looking at investment in general, so this one makes some very innovative points, not all of which will make happy reading in some quarters. For example, he believes that private equity performance should be judged across an investor's whole allocation (what he calls Total Return investing) rather than, as presently, on just that small part of it which may be invested at any one time.
Both books are brilliantly written and make very easy reading out of what are very complex issues.
|
