Yup Kim, the Head of Investments, Private Equity at the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), reflected on the pension fund's private equity strategy. In July of 2022, the fund was in the midst of a multi-year turnaround strategy with the goal to "consistently deploy capital at scale in order to build a diversified, cost-efficient portfolio of high-conviction investments that outperform [its] PE policy benchmark." CalPERS had also recently increased the overall allocation to private equity from 8% to 13%, making it even more critical that Kim and the private equity team achieve their goals. Moreover, CalPERS faced a global economy seemingly headed into a recession and changes within the private equity industry as a whole. Kim needed to decide if they had the right strategy in place to achieve their long-term vision. This case also explores the U.S. public pension system and private equity co-investments.

In 2022, the leaders of In-Q-Tel (IQT) considered what was next for the unique mission-driven organization. Since 1999, IQT had one mission: to be the most sophisticated source of strategic technical knowledge and capabilities to the U.S. government and its allies. IQT played a dual role for the national security community: to both inform the Intelligence Community (IC) with technology insights and to deliver cutting-edge capabilities. Its technical team identified sectors of interest, followed by investment professionals engaging with companies that had promising applications for the U.S. government. Recent years had seen an expansion of IQT's activities through a growing team of in-house technologists, international expansion, "situational awareness" reports, new a new program help federally funded researchers commercialize promising solutions. In the context of rapidly changing (and increasingly intertwined) technology and geopolitical landscapes, the IQT team had several big questions to consider: What was the right scope and complexity for the organization? IQT had expanded office geographies and activities, but IQT faced increased requests from government partners - such as countering offers to U.S. technology companies from foreign acquirers. What was the appropriate portfolio risk? Success for IQT went beyond just financial returns - but IQT needed to find a tolerable balance of potential failure. Lastly, how could the organization recruit the right talent to accommodate this growth? Recruiting and retaining talent was increasingly difficult in a competitive labor market.

Yinglan Tan considered the future of his young Singapore-based venture capital firm. On the one hand, the intuition that was behind the initial creation of Insignia in 2017 had been proven correct. The venture capital market in Southeast Asia had grown rapidly, driven by the spread of e-commerce around the globe and the increased willingness of venture investors around the world to look globally. The new venture group, exploiting existing connections and a nimble structure, had rapidly establish itself in this promising market. This success was incredibly gratifying to Tan. On the other hand, some important questions remained. Foremost among these was the question of scaling. One concern related to whether Insignia should "climb the ladder," and follow its portfolio companies as they received substantially larger financing rounds. These financings would entail raising much more capital but doubling down on winners might yield attractive returns. Second, if it was to garner large amounts of additional capital, the Insignia model would need to evolve, and in important ways come under stress. Finally, the venture market was showing signs of stress. If the long-anticipated downturn was here, what would be the implications for Insignia?

In early December 2014, the senior team of Pudong Science and Technology Investment (hereafter, Pudong S&T) gathered in the offices of their chairman, Dr. Xudong Zhu. Before competing its cross-border acquisition of Montage Technology, Pudong S&T-wholly owned by the Chinese state-had to reduce the government's risks in this investment. To Zhu, the best option seemed to be mixed ownership: that is, involving private shareholders in the business. But was he right? And even if he was, how should it be done?

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the largest pools of investment capital in the world and follows a rigorous "Total Portfolio Framework" in its approach to investment management. In April of 2021, John Graham was just two months into his role as Chief Executive Officer, and he must decide how to lead the organization to outperform the increasingly competitive market. CPPIB had several structural and developed competitive advantages, but with assets under management projected to grow to C$1 trillion by 2030, Graham faced the challenge of scaling the organization's investment strategy for the future. As Graham settled into the chief executive's role, would he be able to lead CPPIB to meet its strategic goals?

In July 2016, Di Yang and Grace Guo of the leading Chinese private equity group CPE faced a dilemma-a happy dilemma, but a challenge nonetheless. CPE's investment in the waste-to-energy firm SUS Environment had proved to be exceedingly successful. This success had triggered a question, which they needed to address in a recommendation to the investment committee of the private equity group. One possibility would be to view this investment as an "early win," and to begin the process of liquidating their equity stake. This would provide an inconvertible signal to the limited partners of the success of the fund. Alternatively, they could invest more in the company. If the next five years were as successful for SUS Environmental as the last two, this step could lead to a tremendous return. How should CPE resolve this question?

In November 2020, the co-founders of DigiPlex study the future growth trajectory of their Nordic data center venture. A critical question was on the agenda: was now finally the right time to sell DigiPlex? Originally a $2.75 million investment in one small data center made in the wake of the dot-com bubble, the Norwegian-based firm had seen tremendous growth in the last two decades. DigiPlex was now worth over a billion dollars and comprised seven data centers across Scandinavia, offering high-speed connectivity powered by sustainable hydro-electric energy.

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments-hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources-given the impact of the COVID-19 public health crisis on the financial markets. The case explores the risks and benefits of a different asset allocation strategy and considers how to create financial models to prepare for unexpected events. It highlights the issues around allocations across different subclasses, e.g., between venture capital, hedge funds, and real assets.

This case follows Jason Wright and Umang Kajaria at Apax Partners as they consider an investment in Duck Creek Technologies, a technology provider for property & casualty insurance companies. The deal required a complex carve-out from Accenture, Duck Creek's parent organization, and several operational improvements to rejuvenate the company. The case provides the opportunity to evaluate the deal's investment thesis, structure, and risks, along with calculating Duck Creek's valuation.

Hony Capital, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm based in China, is investing in a subsidiary of Jushi Group, a Chinese company that is one of the world's largest fiberglass producers. The specific project will build a plant in the United States. In this case, students consider the value Hony can provide to Jushi, and must also determine how Hony will eventually exit the transaction, given the complexity around its structure.

In 2018, private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice celebrated its 40th anniversary and its 20th year under the leadership of CEO Don Gogel. In those decades, CD&R showed solid portfolio performance and generated strong returns for its investors - accomplishments attributed to its unique balance between operations and finance professionals. The firm made sure that, for every deal, it had both the finance and operations expertise to grow revenues, streamline operations, and truly turnaround distressed companies. But as CD&R entered into its fifth decade and its largest fund to date (nearly $10 billion AUM), competition, AUMs, industry "dry powder," and buyout valuations were all on the rise. Within CD&R, rapidly-evolving technologies, talent retention, and the prospect of Gogel's retirement presented additional sources of pressure. Gogel and his team had to consider whether CD&R could maintain its unique identity and continue to add value as it had in the past in the face of such circumstances.