Diversity & inclusion initiatives are among the top priorities for fund managers in today’s private markets. In EY’s 2021 Global Private Equity Survey, over 70% of private equity managers surveyed said they have launched either documented or informal D&I initiatives.
Last year a staggering 74% of CFO respondents in EY’s 2020 Global Private Equity Survey cited “employee productivity and engagement” as their top talent management priority. These response and the broader survey, which was released before the COVID-19 crisis became a global pandemic, offer insight into what CFOs hoped to accomplish in 2020.
From years of working with GPs and LPs across the private markets, we’ve had a behind the scenes look of many tech stacks and processes. While most have implemented specific software for fund accounting or CRM capabilities, portfolio performance data management and analysis is still left to non-specific tools: spreadsheets or generic business intelligence software.
LPs are increasingly focused on the quantitative side of GP value creation during due diligence – looking to validate claims and understand portfolio strategies with data. But are GPs using quantitative data to their advantage to evidence their value-add strengths in their pitch decks and presentations, to go beyond mere claims?
CFOs and COOs in the private markets are acutely aware of the challenges and stiff competition facing their firms today. They have the unenviable role of leading in-house initiatives that create operational excellence and drive success. In many cases this means that they are responsible for thinking critically about firm practices and processes to identify areas in need of innovation and improvements.
Simply put, portfolio performance data is a GP’s most valuable asset. It is their record of achievement, their recipe for future success, and their best fundraising tool, all in one. That is why it is unfathomable that most GPs are still relying solely on spreadsheets as their primary tool for collecting, managing, and analyzing their performance data.
