Mastering Illiquidity: Risk management for portfolios of limited partnership funds

Allocations to illiquid investments have grown substantially in recent years as investments in asset classes such as private equity, real estate, infrastructure or timber, are expected to generate superior returns and help investors diversify their portfolios.  Their unique characteristics however, require specific tools to measure and manage the risk associated with such investments.

This book focuses primarily on the illiquidity risk premium that structurally illiquid asset classes may offer. In contrast to asset classes that may become illiquid thanks to financial turmoil and heightened risk aversion, investors in structurally illiquid asset classes are aware ex-ante of the risk they take. It is precisely this risk, and more specifically the associated risk premium, that attracts investors to these asset classes. Not all investors are able to harvest this risk premium, however. As a matter of principle, only long term investors can, whose liability profile allows them to lock capital in for a prolonged period of time. Harvesting the illiquidity risk premium requires specific risk management techniques, and these are the subject of this book.

Mastering Illiquidity: Risk Management for Portfolios of Limited Partnership Funds provides a clear and accessible overview of the particularities of illiquid fund investments, what the main risks of these asset classes are and how risks are measured in the new regulatory environment. It provides solutions for institutional investors who are searching for guidance in the new era of regulation and offers detailed descriptions of risk measurement in illiquid asset classes which are illustrated with real life case studies. This book helps readers to develop appropriate risk management tools while complying with new regulations which have been put in place to contain individual as well as systemic risks arising from illiquid investments.