In November 2014, CFA Association Russia started a new series of educational events in partnership with IB Club of the Moscow State University. First event of the series was dedicated to the specifics of the Private Equity Industry.

Private equity is one of the most sophisticated and fast developing parts of investment industry: it has grown by approximately 40 times in just 70 years of existence. As a career opportunity, PE is a demanding profession, in which financial specialists have to deal with complex transactions and do large amounts of research. On the other hand, this industry is capable of bringing substantial benefits to its workers, as a lot of fortunes have been made in Private Equity.
 

During the workshop, representatives of three leading private equity teams shared their experience and made detailed presentations about this investment field.

1. DaVinchi Capital Management – most active, local middle-market PE fund, established in 2007. Olek Teonidis, CFA is its Managing Director.
 

Olek told the audience about the history of the industry, its structure, operating model, schedule of funds and stages of closing the deal. He explained in tables and charts the investment strategy of his fund: how the funds flow and how the financiers select companies for investment.

2. Wermuth Asset Management  - one of the oldest private banking institutions in Moscow with German origins, operating in Russia since 1999. Marina Shestakova, CFA, CAIA is its Chief Risk Officer.
 

Marina’s presentation covered following topics:

• Global assets allocation
• PE investments by sectors
• Organizational structure of PE practice
• Investment Terms
• Deal pipeline
• PE types
• Divestment types by PE funds
• Performance of PE funds

Special part of her speech was dedicated to the so called Impact Investing – investments made in companies with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact, alongside with a financial return. 

3. Finally, Vladimir Yarmish, member of Gazprombank M&A and PE team, dispelled common myths about PE and named skills that a future PE specialist should have. He revealed that the first thing he is looking for in a candidate for a position in Gazprombank is the level of his commitment. This is the key skill for a job seeker along with perseverance and ability to get results no matter what.
 

Vladimir confessed that from his own experience, working in PE is sometimes even more complicated than being employed in investment banking or consultancy. But despite the difficulties, this is a very attractive career, especially in Russia, because PE industry in Russia is rather small and fledgling. There are only about six funds that are actively investing today.  So the lack of competition and considerable development perspectives make it a great career opportunity. This is especially true in times of crisis, when many companies are not able to restructure, which creates a lot of investment opportunities. 

This was a rather intense session, which revealed the driving forces and peculiarities of the Private Equity industry to the students of Russia’s leading economic universities. You can follow the lead of young financiers and shape the future of investment by joining CFA Association Russia or viewing CFA educational videos on YouTube.