Overview
- Dates
- Monday, June 14 to Friday, June 18, 2027
- Location
- Imperial College London
- Co-organizers
-
- Michael Ewens (Columbia Business School and NBER)
- Gilles Chemla (Imperial College, CNRS, and CEPR)
- Supporting institutions
- Imperial College
- Contact
- [email protected]
Description
This week-long PhD workshop covers major topics in private capital, including private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurial finance, capital markets, financial intermediation, and more.
Over the last 30 years, the size and scope of private capital markets have grown, while public capital markets have shrunk on several dimensions. The increasing importance of private capital for firms and investors demands that researchers learn more about this area. Even researchers interested in other areas, such as IPOs, mutual funds, and banks, need to understand the what, the why, and the how of private capital markets.
In this five-day workshop, we will cover both the supply and the demand sides of these markets. The demand side includes all private firms, ranging from entrepreneurial firms to large late-stage private companies raising venture capital and private equity. We will focus on what distinguishes private firms from public firms and how private capital markets differ from public capital markets. Understanding the supply side of private capital always begins with an evaluation of intermediaries: the alternative asset managers and the institutional investors who provide them with capital.
This workshop is a follow-on to the Entrepreneurial Finance PhD Workshop and contains some of its material.
Lectures led by:
- Michael Ewens (Columbia Business School and NBER)
- Gilles Chemla (Imperial College, CNRS, and CEPR)
- Ramana Nanda (Imperial College)
- Ziang Li (Imperial College)
- More TBA
Goals and Teaching Objectives
The workshop provides an overview of modern research in private capital markets and the foundation for success in producing research: mastering institutional details including definitions, industry norms, regulations, laws, databases, and disclosure rules.
By the end of the workshop, students should be able to:
- Describe the field's key facts and seminal results.
- Explain and analyze how private and public capital markets differ and why it matters.
- Critique the field's research designs (selection vs. treatment, missing prices, self-reported valuations).
- Assess how private-market data come to exist before drawing inferences.
- Formulate dissertation-ready research questions.
Target Students
Students past their second year of PhD programs in economics, finance, strategy, management, or related fields. Preference given to applicants from outside top schools with faculty working on these topics and those outside the U.S.
Who should apply: Students in their PhD's second, third, fourth, or fifth year, having completed basic core economics and/or finance classes.
How to Apply
Complete the application form requiring biographical information, short cover letter, resume, and two short reference emails.
Cost
$800 covering administrative costs and group meals. Students must secure their own accommodation (options available to admitted students).
Main Topics
Entrepreneurial finance and private firms
- Who becomes an entrepreneur: wealth, collateral and financing constraints
- Early-stage finance and venture capital contracting
- How private firms raise capital
Private equity
- Why private equity exists and what GPs actually do
- The impact of private equity and LBOs on firms, workers, consumers and creditors
Public and private capital markets
- How public and private markets differ, including regulation
- Why firms stay private longer, and why lending has moved from banks to private credit
- Households, income inequality and private markets
Intermediaries and investors
- Institutional details of private equity and venture capital funds
- Institutional investors: asset allocation and GP–LP relationships
- Private debt and private credit
Risk, return and methods
- Performance measurement: IRR, PME, risk-adjusted returns and cycles
- Empirical methods and data, including selection versus treatment
Current topics
- Technology, AI and tokenization
- Secondaries, continuation funds and retail access
- A contrarian perspective on private markets
Workshop Format
- Lectures
- Paper discussions
- Pitch sessions