Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

A pioneering investor talks to us about challenging the industry’s conventions.

Tom Callahan, CEO of NASDAQ Private Market, argues that today’s liquidity crisis could mark a turning point for secondaries markets.

Nigel Dawn, senior managing director at Evercore, explains how GPs and LPs are discovering new tools and techniques to finance deals.

The race to the cutting edge of advanced analytics has begun. Get up to speed, fast.

Go deeper, in part two of this series on advanced analytics. We'll explore the frontiers of the field, its technological breakthroughs and breakdowns.

The margin equation keeps breaking down. Piece it back together again with integrated due diligence.

Learn about the tools — and power tools — that can help diligence teams model every moving part of a deal.

Spot disruptive tech, before it snaps down on your deal.

Absent these market conditions, buyer beware.

Spot real synergies — not imagined ones — and create a company that's built to last.

Learn how to spot opportunities for top-line growth from the outside, in.

Build a sales team that can deliver top-line returns for years to come.

Get the essential data and trends of 2019 to inform your 2020 strategy.

Deal data — truly credible, granular deal data — will change the way the PE industry works.

Get the long story short.

The case for a curiously resilient industry

What's your zone of competence? Inquiring LP's want to know.

Here's how to keep the deal pipeline flowing, despite it all.

Take command and control of distressed assets across the portfolio.

Prepare for six potential rebound scenarios, today.

China is open for business, but it's hardly business as usual.

What are the risks and rewards of investing after a lockdown?

Could the service models emerging today alter the course of healthcare permanently?

How can investors gain a foothold, even as the ground shifts beneath their feet?

Dry powder is at a record high, but how will it be put to work?

Between video calls and advanced analytics, just how much of the deal pipeline can go digital?

Covid-19 has forced the industry to contend with these three trends.

Green technology is changing the calculus of investing.

Embed ESG in a value creation plan and the rest will come naturally.

Use ESG to energize the entire workforce, from the C-suite to the frontline.

Isolate the ESG indicators that really matter to your portfolio.

Bain’s inaugural report on the state of the industry examines how leading companies are investing in AI and automation, the hybrid cloud, the Internet of Things, flexible supply chains, virtual sales and other tools to increase resilience and accelerate growth.Read the full 2020 tech report here: https://www.bain.com/insights/topics/technology-report/

Bain’s inaugural report on the state of the industry examines how leading companies are investing in AI and automation, the hybrid cloud, the Internet of Things, flexible supply chains, virtual sales and other tools to increase resilience and accelerate growth.Read the full 2020 tech report here: https://www.bain.com/insights/topics/technology-report/

As close as we’ll ever get to a unified theory of tech investing.

We consider the rebound from a remarkably strange year.

We consider a critical question from this year’s Global Private Equity Report. Read the full report here.

We take stock of a remarkable year of changes to the healthcare sector, fueled by innumerable acts of “healthcare heroism.” 

We consider a conceptual shift that has enormous implications for how the public and private sectors work together.

Your value creation plan is the key to building a strong team, setting clear goals and delivering results.Read the full report here: https://www.bain.com/insights/talent-decisions-global-private-equity-report-2021/

One of Europe’s leading tech investors describes how Hg drilled down from industry to sector to sub-sector, and discovered its “sweet spot” for investing.

One of Europe’s leading tech investors describes how Hg adopts the latest breakthroughs in advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning “as fast as we possibly can.”

The industry has not only bounced back, it has tripled in size.Read the full report here:  Private Equity’s Wild First-Half Ride

An industry that has historically lagged on diversity may be poised to take the lead.

There are no shortcuts, but there are breakthroughs.

The worlds of fintech and financial services are merging into one.

You can’t be good at everything in such a vast and competitive deal space, but you can focus.

Private equity firms must look beyond their cost cutting playbook and develop a pricing strategy that can weather an inflationary storm.

Track inflationary pressures across the portfolio and help management teams combat shared threats together.

By just about any measure, private equity set a remarkable new standard during 2021.Read the full report here: bain.com/privateequityreport

We consider the intensifying competition for tech, the rise of growth equity investing and the critical importance of sector expertise.Read the full report here: bain.com/privateequityreport

ESG awareness has gone global. Learn how leading private equity firms are now springing into action.

Discover how leading private equity firms are making their ESG agendas more measurable and ultimately more manageable.

You don't need the keys to the source code to learn an awful lot about a business from the outside, in.Learn more about Bain's Tech Insights Group here: https://www.bain.com/industry-expertise/private-equity/tech-due-diligence/

Translate technical jargon into actionable recommendations.Learn more about Bain's Tech Insights Group here: https://www.bain.com/industry-expertise/private-equity/tech-due-diligence/

The field is evolving fast. Here’s how investors can stay ahead.

In Bain’s 2022 Midyear Private Equity Report, we help you plan for scenarios, not certainty.Read the full report here: https://www.bain.com/insights/shifting-gears-private-equity-report-midyear-2022/

Faced with an unprecedented confluence of macro risks, we asked Bain’s leading macro expert to game out the possible outcomes for the global economy, from best to worst case scenarios.

Home in on the mission critical risks to your portfolio and don’t sweat the details.

The debate around ESG is heating up, but it may shed light on the future of ESG investing.Further ReadingClosing the ESG Measurement Gap in Private EquityDecarbonization: How Private Equity Can Make It WorkPrivate Equity Investors Debate the Best Path Forward on ESGBusinesses Urge SEC to Consider Mergers in Climate-Disclosure Rule 

A raft of new public policies will not only reshape portfolios, they could also transform the way private equity houses run and grow their businesses on the ground.

Hg’s Matthew Brockman explains how sector specialization can deliver surprisingly stable returns.

Hg’s Matthew Brockman describes the technological trends that could reshape the workplace for decades to come.

We asked the CEO of Titanbay how digital platforms could open up private equity deals to a whole new class of investors.

In part two of our interview with the CEO of Titanbay, we discuss the regulatory and behavioral hurdles that have prevented private equity from accessing roughly half of the world's sources of capital — and to what extent digital platforms can lower those barriers to entry.

Investors have been funding a massive build out of Web3 infrastructure, despite the turmoil over the past year.Further ReadingWeb3 Could Rewrite the Rules of User IdentitySnap Chart: How Much Is Web3 Disrupting Your Industry? 

Private equity firms are racing to build out their Web3 capabilities, from deal sourcing to diligence to the bleeding edge of tokenization fund management.  Further Reading: For Digital Assets, Private Markets Offer the Greatest Opportunities

Behind the scenes at Davos, attendees were coming to terms with a fracturing world, a cascade of risks and, despite it all, a silver lining.Today on Dry Powder, Karen Harris, managing director of Bain's Macro Trends Group, shares her key insights from Davos and how private equity investors are dealing with the emergent risks and opportunities of a multipolar world.Listen to her previous appearances on Dry Powder, below:Macro Risks: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Macro Risks: Keep It Simple

Deal activity was on track for another record-setting year, until the wheels came off.Read the full 2023 Global Private Equity Report, below:https://www.bain.com/insights/topics/global-private-equity-report/

As margins shrink, private equity houses are rediscovering the vital importance of operational due diligence.

Too many business leaders lack a clear and granular understanding of profitability, but a few organizations are visualizing profits in startling detail.

We asked the CEO of Moonfare what it takes to get ordinary investors up to speed and investing in private equity with confidence.If you haven't heard my interview with another early mover in this space, the CEO of Titanbay, I highly recommend you go back and listen to those episodes as well. I've also started a series of weekly posts on LinkedIn. If you're interested in receiving those updates, follow my LinkedIn profile, here.

We asked the CEO of Opto Investments to take us inside their eye-opening series A round and why they’re pursuing Registered Investment Advisors with a laser-like focus.If you haven’t heard our interviews with the CEOs of Moonfare and Titanbay, I highly recommend you go back and listen to those episodes as well.I've also started a series of weekly posts on LinkedIn. If you're interested in receiving those updates, follow my LinkedIn profile, here.

We consider whether the launch of a few tokenized funds amounts to an interesting experiment on the blockchain or the beginning of a powerful secular trend.If you'd like to learn more about the democratization of private equity, I recommend you listen to our interviews with the CEOs of Titanbay, Moonfare and Opto Investments.I've also started a series of weekly posts on LinkedIn, which you can follow here. 

Karen Harris, the head of Bain’s Macro Trends Group, returns to the show for a conversation on interest rates, bank runs and an unusual mix of economic indicators. 

We asked Bain’s leading macro expert whether the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency is really under threat.

Christian Sinding, the CEO and managing partner of EQT Group, joins us for our first live recording. We explore when deal markets will finally stir to life and how EQT takes intelligent risks in a period of overwhelming of uncertainty.

Ian Charles, the managing partner of Arctos’ Sports Partners, takes us inside the world of sports investing.

On the previous episode of Dry Powder, Ian Charles, managing partner at Arctos Sports Partners, took us inside his approach to sports investing. It was a master class in sector specialization and value creation that you don’t want to miss, but Ian has always tended to go after nonobvious opportunities.“I grew up in a small town in Alaska,” he says. “One of the things that you always heard as a kid was if you go out on the frozen lake, make sure you’re not around too many of your friends. It’s actually safer to be all alone.”Today on the show, I ask Ian how he helped bring about a series of innovations in the secondaries market at Arctos, which launched a new strategy this week expanding into broader private markets. We’ll reflect on the creative transaction structures that have made secondaries more accessible and efficient.I've also started a series of weekly posts on LinkedIn, which you can follow here.

Deal activity, exits and fundraising are all sharply down, but the fear of a recession is also subsiding. So what’s holding investors back?Read Bain's Private Equity Midyear Report 2023, here.You can also find our latest research on the fundraising slowdown and how top private equity firms are learning to sell, here.I've also started a weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, which you can follow here.

In such a severely capital-constrained environment, you need to give your LP’s  confidence that you’ll be able to deliver real results over the next five years. Read our latest research on the fundraising slowdown and how top private equity firms are learning to sell, here.I've also started a weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, which you can follow here.

We ask Welsh Carson how they identify the next generation of leaders within the firm and how they extend those practices to their wider ecosystem of partners and advisors.I've also launched a weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, which you can follow  here.

In the second part of our interview series with WCAS, we explore how they “co-cover” the healthcare and tech industries, together.

The longtime chairman and now senior advisor at Bain capital explains why he is “as excited” to be involved in the private equity industry today as he was 30 years ago.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, you can follow me here.

In part two of our interview series, we ask Steve how he recruits and retains a team of all-star players.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, you can follow me here.

We ask Karen Harris, the managing director of Bain’s Macro Trends Group, whether the economy could emerge from this period of rate hikes unscathed.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

In part two of our macro series, we explore the risks and rewards of public-private partnerships.

We ask the founding team at Greater Share about their intriguing new approach to philanthropic funding and how they’ve already garnered support from some of the world’s leading GPs.

As competition for capital intensifies, a one-size-fits-all approach to institutional investors will no longer suffice.

In part two of our fund-raising series, we’ll dig into the tools, tactics, and technologies that enable general partners to tailor their pitches to key decision makers within institutions.

We ask Vista’s CEO how he continues to do deals at an astonishing clip, despite the challenging conditions of today’s market.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

In part two of our interview series, we explore Vista’s approach to AI and how it connects to the company’s founding story.

Today on the show, I have a lively conversation with Ashby Monk, the executive director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long Term Investing. Ashby studies the inner workings of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations —  in short all of those LPs that sit somewhere in between the public and private sectors.“That means that they are optimizing for things that are not entirely evident to just the casual observer,” Ashby says.In this episode of Dry Powder, I ask Ashby to take us inside the $140 trillion universe of long-term investing and help us understand what exactly these organizations are optimizing for.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

As inflation trends downward, should investors plan for a lower interest rate environment in 2024 — and even the possibility of deflation?

We asked two of Bain’s leading experts on commercial excellence to take us to the cutting edge of investor relations.