SWITZERLAND - LPX launches new private equity index

LPX, the Swiss-based publisher of research and indices on global listed private equity, has launched a new index, LPX Direct, created in partnership with Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. LPX Direct is LPX’s twelfth private equity index and covers only those listed private equity companies that make direct private equity investments i.e. General Partners and not fund of funds or quoted management companies. LPX Direct has evolved from research conducted by LPX with Julius Baer, who is also the exclusive partner of the first products based on this index. Evaluation for the index dates back to December 31, 1998. LPX maintains a database of the world’s nearly 300 listed private equity companies, which qualify for inclusion if more than 50% of their net assets are invested in the private equity domain. The valuation model takes into account not only the total net assets, but also their allocation. The database allows for classification and integration of companies that focus on sub-segments of the private equity domain, such as buyout, mezzanine or venture. LPX Direct comprises companies with net assets consisting of no less than 80% of direct private equity investments and that meet certain liquidity criteria (liquidity is reviewed every six months). From candidates that meet these criteria, a well-traded subset is selected for the index. LPX Direct is diversified by both the stages of private equity investment (venture, growth and buyout) and the geographical allocation of the investments and is, thus, a model of an aggregation of direct private equity investment portfolios.