
March 16, 2020
Private Markets Performance
Investors in the private markets are typically focused on private markets performance in two ways: How have the private markets performed? How does that performance compare to the public markets? Using Cobalt LP’s benchmark and industry-level data, we’re able to take a look at both of these areas. Private Markets[...]

February 25, 2020
Measuring Risk in Private Equity
We have all heard the comment that your private equity portfolio is riskier than your public equity portfolio. But, is this true? How do you even measure risk in private equity? Glad you asked. We, at Cobalt, think of measuring risk in private equity in two ways: versus short-term Treasuries[...]

February 3, 2020
Fundraising in the Private Markets
As we reflect back on 2019, one thing that stands out is the strong fundraising seen in the private markets. When we think of fundraising, we measure it in two ways: Looking at total opportunities received by a large institution Understanding the total exposure of the private markets, by strategy[...]

December 20, 2019
Chart of the Month: IRR by Strategy and Time Horizon
Historically, Private Equity has provided the highest returns across all time horizons relative to Private Credit and Real Assets While Private Credit and Real Assets historically generate lower returns than Private Equity, Private Credit provides stable and predictable cashflows. Private Real Assets provides diversification benefits by being less correlated to[...]

October 25, 2019
Chart of the Month: Private Equity IRR by Vintage Year
Private markets often use IRR as a performance metric to measure returns over a fund's life Quartiles break down the IRRs, ranked least to greatest, for each vintage year by 25% increments of each grouping Historically top quartile funds generate significantly higher returns than bottom quartile funds Returns during the[...]

October 8, 2019
Deal Level Metrics: A Quick Overview
Deal level metrics enable LPs to evaluate how a manager is adding value to the underlying companies within a fund. Metrics can also be used to help LPs understand the risk associated with an investment, the overall health of the investment and benchmark the investment to the broader markets (in[...]

September 27, 2019
Chart of the Month: Leverage Multiples Across Vintage Years
The above chart shows how leverage multiples can dramatically impact the overall gross IRR of a deal: the highest IRR's come in deals with a 6x-8x leverage multiple (Acquisition Net Debt/EBITDA) the lowest volatility returns in deals come from investments made with a 4x-6x leverage multiple which is expected

September 24, 2019
New Deal Level Benchmarks
We've revamped the deal level benchmarks in Cobalt LP to provide our clients with best-in-class access to Hamilton Lane's proprietary data. A sampling of the new deal level dataset... To learn more about the other features within Cobalt LP, click here.

June 27, 2019
4 Key Elements You Need To Know About Real Assets Benchmarking
In the world of private real assets, real assets benchmarking represents a particularly challenging and complex task, as compared to traditional assets.

June 24, 2019
Chart of the Month: Distribution Pacing
Learn more about the distribution pacing within private markets from the first half of 2019 using Hamilton Lane’s proprietary data.