Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

A few big ticket deals have raised hopes of a rebound, but investors are still wondering when deal activity will return to normal, or what normative will even look like in the coming year.

In part two of our interview series, we explore how generative AI is prompting a radical reconsideration of how software is priced and deployed at scale.

Hg’s head of research shares some of the more remarkable use cases of generative AI and what they reveal about the future of work.

Healthcare IT has the potential to not only make the industry more efficient but also to revolutionize patient care.

In part two of our interview series, we explore how private equity can continue expanding its global footprint and what it will take to thrive in a multipolar world.

The co-managing partner of Bain Capital takes us inside of their remarkably diversified portfolio, where venture capital, private equity, real estate, and credit don't just coexist—they actively reinforce each other.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series of posts on LinkedIn, you can follow me here.

Host Hugh MacArthur takes the hot seat in this special episode about the future of private equity.You can access the original, full-length interview here. If you'd like to stay up to date with Hugh's weekly posts on LinkedIn, follow him here.

2024 is shaping up to be a surprisingly robust year for private equity deal activity.

[This series originally aired on November 21, 2019] Absent certain market conditions, buyer beware.

[This episode originally aired on March 21, 2023] As margins shrink, private equity houses are rediscovering the vital importance of operational due diligence.

A small, but growing cohort of investors are taking mid-sized companies private and driving substantial margin improvements.

Deals and exits are flat, and fundraising is down, but the real story is the tension beneath the numbers.For a deeper discussion, join our live webinar on July 9. Read Bain's 2024 Midyear Private Equity Report, here.

Karen Khalaf, one of Bain's leading experts in sovereign wealth funds, explains how a little knowledge can go a long way on the fundraising trail.

Jim Strang, chairman of HgCapital Trust, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of the private equity industry.If you'd like to stay up to date with my weekly series on LinkedIn, follow me here.

We explore a fresh approach to modeling and managing risk.

In part two of our series, Thoma Bravo’s leading enterprise software investor explains how they continue to find exit opportunities and source new deals.

We ask one of Thoma Bravo’s leading enterprise software investors why 2023 could be a “significantly better” year for deal making.

Private equity firms are developing measures of success that go far beyond carbon footprints.

We ask Bain’s leading macro expert about the “last mile” of rate cuts in the US, and whether Europe has miles to go.

We seem to have entered a period of eerie calm, but will it last?Read Bain & Company’s 2024 Global Private Equity Report here.View my webinar on March 19th here.

In part two of our interview, we explore the principles and strategies that enable the industry’s top-performing GP’s to deliver persistent returns.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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 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.

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

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.

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

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 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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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

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