Second edition of "Mastering Private Equity" addresses how PE funds can deliver returns in a higher-rate, lower-liquidity environment.
Remember 2021? When everything had "potential", valuations defied gravity and PE firms could do no wrong? That party is now but a distant memory. Today’s reality: higher rates, lower growth, shrinking valuations and investors demanding liquidity.
INSEAD Professor Claudia Zeisberger’s release of the second edition of "Mastering Private Equity" is therefore particularly timely – arriving precisely when the industry wrestles with what comes next, even as it manages US$4 trillion in assets.
“When we first published ‘Mastering Private Equity’, unicorns were rare, secondaries were niche, and private debt was just getting started,” says Zeisberger, who has 30 years’ experience in the finance sector and teaches private equity, venture capital and corporate venturing at INSEAD. The original 2017 edition sold more than 50,000 copies and established itself as an authoritative reference for investors, finance professionals, students and business owners.
“Our second edition captures this inflection point – not just as an update, but as a practical lens to make sense of what’s shifting and why.”
Henry Kravis and George Roberts, co-founders and co-Executive Chairmen of leading investment firm KKR, write in a foreword for the book: “Some things certainly have changed since we started, most notably the size, scale and impact of this now multitrillion-dollar global industry. This offers the next generation of private market leaders an opening to meaningfully address significant societal challenges like financing the energy transition, helping secure retirements, and ensuring more people have a stake in the free enterprise system.”
There were three times more venture capital "down rounds" – decrease in a startup’s valuation – in 2022-23. The secondaries market, in which primary PE investors sell stakes in a company to a secondary buyer, is thriving as exits have dried up and demand for liquidity is rising.
Meanwhile, private debt has emerged as a standout performer, capitalising on the high-interest rate environment to offer compelling alternatives to traditional fixed income portfolios.
The 400-page book, published by Wiley and available on pre-order, is co-authored by INSEAD alumni and investment professionals Bowen White and Michael Prahl, and features contributions from two dozen senior industry practitioners.
While still focused on education, the updated book highlights the latest market data and industry developments and innovations. It documents how responsible and impact investing has evolved from "interesting" in 2017 to "essential" in 2025, reflecting institutional investors' growing emphasis on sustainability.
The book also addresses the "democratisation of private capital" – the expanding access for high-net-worth individuals to an asset class traditionally reserved for institutional investors. This shift represents one of the most significant structural changes in private markets.
Buy-and-build strategies receive expanded coverage, reflecting PE firms' increasing sophistication in creating category-leading businesses through strategic acquisitions.
"Mastering Private Equity – Second Edition" will be available through major book retailers from June 16.
