The economics of private equity funds

Capital market ; Securities

Venture Capital and Other Private Equity: A Survey

We review the theory and evidence on venture capital (VC) and other private equity: why professional private equity exists, what private equity managers do with their portfolio companies, what returns they earn, who earns more and why, what determines the design of contracts signed between (i) private equity managers and their portfolio companies and (ii) private equity managers and their investors (limited partners), and how/whether these contractual designs affect outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of private ownership, and information asymmetry and illiquidity associated with it, as a key explanatory factor of what makes private equity different from other asset classes.

The Behavior of Intoxicated Investors: The role of institutional investors in propagating the crisis of 2007-2008

Using a novel data of institutional investors’ bond holdings, we examine a transmission of the crisis of 2007-2008 from the securitized bond market to the corporate bond market via joint ownership of these bonds by investors. We posit that, ceteris paribus, corporate bonds held by investors with high exposure to securitized bonds and liquidity needs experience greater selling pressure and price declines (yield increases) at the onset of the crisis. We further test predictions of a model of dynamic asset liquidation: Investors with large enough future liquidity shocks retain liquid assets, and instead sell assets that have relatively high temporary price impacts of trading. Mutual funds with higher sensitivity of pay to performance held higher portions of their portfolios in securitized bonds prior to the crisis. After the onset of the crisis, these funds did not sell securitized bonds on average and instead sold corporate bonds to meet their liquidity needs. Sales rose and yield spreads widened more for those corporate bonds whose mutual fund holders’ portfolios were more heavily exposed to securitized bonds, compared to same-issuer bonds held by unexposed funds. Shorter-horizon mutual funds liquidated greater portions of their corporate bond holdings and in particular lower-rated bonds. In contrast, insurance companies sold little regardless of their exposure as long as they were above the minimum capital ratio threshold. These findings suggest that short-horizon mutual funds with high exposure to securitized bonds played a role in transmitting the crisis from securitized bonds to corporate bonds.

2007 Report of the “Let’s Observe Plant Chromosomes Found Shonan Hiratsuka Campus, Kanagawa University” project

Our laboratory (Azumi laboratory, Kanagawa University) started the project“Let’s Observe Plant Chromosomes Found on Shonan Hiratsuka Campus, KanagawaUniversity” in April 2007. The objective of this project is to introduce a hidden part ofplants, meiotic chromosomes, to the public and to share our interest in plants with thegeneral public. As children are increasingly becoming disinterested in science, we hopethat this project will increase their interest in nature and science. This is the first reportof our activity. So far, we have succeeded in observing all stages of meiosis in three kinds ofplants, Brassica rapa L., Lamium amplexicaule L., and Solanum nigrum L

Influence of unique layered microstructure on fatigue properties of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloys fabricated by electron beam melting

The influence of a unique layered microstructure consisting of duplex-like region and equiaxed γ grain layers (γ bands) on the fatigue properties of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy bars fabricated by electron beam melting (EBM) was investigated at room temperature (RT) and 1023 K focusing on the angle (θ) between the building direction and cylinder (loading) axis. We found for the first time the fatigue strengths of the alloy bars with the layered microstructure depend strongly on the angle θ. Particularly, the fatigue strength of the alloy bars fabricated at θ = 45° is comparable to that of the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treated cast alloys, even without HIP treatment. We also found the alloy bars fabricated at θ = 0° and 45° exhibit high fatigue strengths in the low-cycle fatigue life region at 1023 K similar to θ = 45° alloy bars at RT. These high fatigue strengths are caused by inhibition of the brittle main crack initiation by stress relaxation due to shear deformation at the γ bands and large plasticity of the alloys. These findings indicate that the alloys fabricated by EBM at θ = 45° with the unique layered microstructure have a great potential for aerospace and automobile applications.Cho K., Kobayashi R., Oh J.Y., et al. Influence of unique layered microstructure on fatigue properties of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloys fabricated by electron beam melting. Intermetallics 95, 1 (2018); https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2018.01.009

Object Transportation System Mimicking the Cilia of Paramecium aurelia Making Use of the Light-Controllable Crystal Bending Behavior of a Photochromic Diarylethene

The design of an object transportation system exploiting the bending behavior of surface-assembled diarylethene crystals is reported. A photoactuated smart surface based on this system can transport polystyrene beads to a desired area depending on the direction of the incident light. Two main challenges were addressed to accomplish directional motion along a surface: first, the preparation of crystals whose bending behavior depends on the direction of incident light; second, the preparation of a film on which these photochromic crystal plates are aligned. Nuclei generation and nuclear growth engineering were achieved by using a roughness-controlled dotted microstructured substrate. This system demonstrates how to achieve a mechanical function as shown by remote-controlled motion along a surface

Photoinduced swing of a diarylethene thin broad sword shaped crystal:a study on the detailed mechanism

We report a swinging motion of photochromic thin broad sword shaped crystals upon continuous irradiation with UV light. By contrast in thick crystals, photosalient phenomena were observed. The bending and swinging mechanisms are in fact due to molecular size changes as well as phase transitions. The first slight bending away from the light source is due to photocyclization-induced surface expansion, and the second dramatic bending toward UV incidence is due to single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) phase transition from the original phase I to phase IIUV. Upon visible light irradiation, the crystal returned to phase I. A similar SCSC phase transition with a similar volume decrease occurred by lowering the temperature (phase IIItemp). For both photoinduced and thermal SCSC phase transitions, the symmetry of the unit cell is lowered; in phase IIUV the twisting angle of disordered phenyl groups is different between two adjacent molecules, while in phase IIItemp, the population of the phenyl rotamer is different between adjacent molecules. In the case of phase IIUV, we found thickness dependent photosalient phenomena. The thin broad sword shaped crystals with a 3 mu m thickness showed no photosalient phenomena, whereas photoinduced SCSC phase transition occurred. In contrast, large crystals of several tens of mu m thickness showed photosalient phenomena on the irradiated surface where SCSC phase transition occurred. The results indicated that the accumulated strain, between isomerized and non-isomerized layers, gave rise to the photosalient phenomenon

A Clinical Evaluation of a Plastic Temporary Filling Material (Dura Seal®)

Recently Dura Seal, a kind of plastic, has been marketed as a temporary filling material. This clinical study was done to determine whether or not Dura Seal has the properties advertised by the manufacturer. A total of 135 teeth, including 110 vital teeth and 25 pulpless teeth, were prepared for metal inlay cavities. The prepared cavities were sealed with Dura Seal for an average of 12.0 days. Dura Seal was found to be easily removable, to show no pulp damage, and to have considerable mechanical strength