What is Private Equity?
Simply put “private equity” are investments in private businesses. They only differ from publicly traded businesses in that they do NOT trade on a stock or bond market. These investments range from conservative real estate developments to higher risk start up companies. Private equity investments are usually not “liquid” (sellable) until the project is finalized, a hold period is met or the company is sold or has an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares.
In Canada, Private Equity investments are typically offered to retail and institutional investors via Exempt Market Dealers (exempt from issuing a prospectus) such as Triview Capital Ltd. It is a fast growing sector within the Canadian Financial Services Industry and regulated by the Canadian Securities Administrators and the many Provincial Securities Commissions. In 2014 more capital ($180 billion) was raised within the Private Equity space than within the Public Equity space. Investors must meet certain criteria and thus qualify under current regulations and exemptions.
Interviews
Triview Capital's CEO, Craig Burrows
on Michael Campbell's Money Talks Show - January 2015
Why Invest in Private Equity?
The easiest way for the average retail investor to invest in Private Equity investments is to contact an Exempt Market Dealer, Private Equity Specialist such as David Graham. Depending on what you are trying to achieve with your capital, David will talk to you about your risk-return profile, your expectations, your time line and other important areas to determine what exact investment(s) would suit you best.
With over 30 years experience within the Canadian Securities Industry, David is well versed in all areas surrounding investments within the Canadian and US markets. David always recommends that investors stay well diversified (manage risk) among different industries and geographically.
Once an investor decides to invest there is a Know Your Client document to be completed with David and then the usual investment offering documents to complete. Triview Capital is not like a traditional investment brokerage firm and does not hold the investments in custody for the investor. Each investment is held directly with the issuing company.
How to Invest in Private Equity
Private Equity investments have been quickly gaining popularity over the past 10 years as more and more wealthy investors, pension plans, endowment funds and hedge funds allocate more capital towards these type of investments. Why are they doing this you ask? Simply because Private Equity investments have a few very powerful things going for them when compared to the usual Publicly Traded investments such as stocks and bonds. A major difference is that these investments are not correlated to the publicly traded markets, they experience little volatility as they are not valued ever second, they can’t be bought or sold on a whim with a click of a mouse, have far outperformed the public markets, generally offer better value and often have little or no annual management fees. Over each of the past three years (to Nov. 2016) more money has been raised via Private Equity investments than publicly traded investments. Why not follow astute and well educated professional investors in the world and invest in Private Equity investments yourself?