The foreword of the book states that it is designed for an MBA course on private equity. The book is a comprehensive view of the PE world, starting with how companies raise capital and the role PE plays. Most PE funds are unregulated, meaning they do not have to comply with the same rules as regulated funds when reporting on their track record and whilst it’s clear that PE has an important role to play in funding start-ups which may turn out to be the next Apple, or the company which finds a cure for cancer, the reality is that – for the vast majority of individuals – PE investing is not right for them. Few investors have the capital required to invest directly into the shares of individual companies and therefore their only route to this asset class is via funds where their resources are pooled with those of other investors. As demonstrated in the book, a PE fund tends to be opaque, can basically charge what it likes (and does not need to be transparent about those charges) and allows for a lot of ‘snouts in the trough’ much higher up the food chain than the fund’s investors. The conclusion drawn in the book is that investing in a PE fund is unlikely to be a rewarding investment, and since being invited into an ‘inner circle’ of a small group of investors given the opportunity to invest directly into individual companies is both a high-risk strategy and unsuitable for the vast majority of investors. If you’re interested in an in depth, yet very accessible book on private equity and how it works, then this text is right for you.