In June 2024, qashqade ran a summer survey for private markets professionals to better understand their levels of trust with their data and partnership agreements, their plans for the summer and what would bring them out of “holiday mode”.
The survey was conducted in partnership with private markets advisor Matt Craig-Greene from Wagtails. We extend our gratitude to all participants!
Over 200 respondents participated in the survey, with 94% based in Europe and North America. The respondents were made up of equal parts representing General Partners, Limited Partners, and Advisors/Service Providers.
The results were both enlightening and entertaining.
Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the following statements:
The survey reveals that a combined 84% of respondents do not fully trust the data they receive from third parties or even their colleagues. Additionally, 84% of participants reported disagreements with counterparties over the interpretation of contract clauses, such as Limited Partnership Agreements (LPAs).
These insights align with our weekly observations in the private markets industry. Fund data involving billions of dollars is vulnerable to human error, often because it is shared in unstable spreadsheets. Furthermore, the ambiguous language of LPAs can lead to significant issues when terms are misinterpreted.
These trust and interpretation issues appear to contribute to workplace stress, with 75% of respondents indicating difficulty in leaving work-related stress at the office. One respondent noted, "It’s nearly impossible to switch off."
Respondents were asked how they prefer to relax away from the office. (Multiple options chosen)
The survey revealed that while three-quarters enjoy spending time with friends and family to relax, 12% indicated they “scream silently into a pillow” to let off steam. This perhaps speaks to the high stakes and stresses faced by private market professionals.
In addition to spending time with loved ones, respondents reported engaging in various activities to unwind, including playing or watching live sports, going to the gym, exercising, reading, cooking, and playing video games. One respondent shared a particularly distinctive way of relaxing: “Scotch and cigars.”
Respondents were asked about their plans for the summer.
Our survey revealed a diverse array of summer plans. Respondents mentioned trips to France, Greece, Italy, Baku, Hawaii, and Canada. Additionally, many plan to enjoy a summer of sports, including the Olympics.
However, numerous professionals indicated that their primary summer activity would be work, supplemented by a brief holiday. One professional highlighted, "Busy through to mid-August with June quarter-end."
Respondents were asked what could bring them out of “holiday mode”, this summer? (Multiple options chosen)
When asked what could disrupt their holiday plans this summer, 55% of respondents pointed to "critical staff leaving" as a major concern, highlighting the prevalence of key person risk in the industry.
Additionally, 48% cited a "client in crisis" as another potential disruptor. Other factors mentioned include "too many new investments or exit transactions" and a "fundraising slowdown," both of which could dampen summer plans.
Respondents were asked what's the worst that could happen, if someone in their team misplaced a decimal point.
The survey also explored the potential consequences of data errors, with respondents warning of severe impacts ranging from "extremely embarrassing," "loss of value to our clients," "reputational damage," "going out of business, potentially", "losing millions," and even "bankruptcy."
This underscores the dangers of critical fund data being vulnerable to human error and being stored and shared in unstable spreadsheets, rather than being managed in a dedicated solution.
Respondents were asked to confess their deepest professional secret.
When asked, "What's your deepest professional secret?" many respondents confessed to experiencing imposter syndrome and confidence issues. Other intriguing admissions included, “I actually hate PE,” “We are a much smaller company than we appear,” and “I don’t actually do any work.”
Engineered in Switzerland by private markets experts, guarantees accuracy, improves transparency and builds trust between GPs, LPs and their beneficiaries. It does this through an award-winning enterprise product suite that streamlines and automates fee and waterfall calculations and reporting for private funds, replacing manual processes and unstable spreadsheets. The qashqade platform offers CFOs a modular solution that can handle any asset class and any level of complexity.
Learn more about us here.
