Private capital managers can take advantage of the new Institute for Private Capital at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill.
The institute was created to build a comprehensive database on private capital around the world for university researchers and others, said Gregory W. Brown, IPC director and professor of finance at Kenan-Flagler.
Participating universities so far are Oxford University, Univesity of Chicago, Duke University and University of Virginia.
“We came to the conclusion pretty quickly that there is huge need for anything having to do with private capital,” Mr. Brown said. “We want to find people who have already spent the man hours putting together the data sets.” The institute is actively seeking data sources and research project ideas related to private capital, he said.
The first effort is focusing on private equity, with future projects on venture capital, hedge funds, real estate and natural resources funds, and closely held small businesses. The institute also will work on curriculum development and educational initiatives.
Mr. Brown, who teaches derivatives and hedge fund strategies in undergraduate and graduate courses and is director of the Center for Excellence in Investment Management, said the institute's work “should spill over nicely into the classroom. It's nice to be able to bring facts into the classroom.”
