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So, the PE firm I just interned at had a hurdle rate of 25%. Looking back and comparing that to some of these numbers, is that very high? I guess you also have to keep in mind that the firm is located in Hong Kong and invests in only APAC companies (ex Japan)

 
smeethu

So, the PE firm I just interned at had a hurdle rate of 25%. Looking back and comparing that to some of these numbers, is that very high? I guess you also have to keep in mind that the firm is located in Hong Kong and invests in only APAC companies (ex Japan)

25% IRR hurdle is grossly high. I don't know how that firm would make money unless it's in the illegal drug trade.
 
Dingdong08 smeethu:

So, the PE firm I just interned at had a hurdle rate of 25%. Looking back and comparing that to some of these numbers, is that very high? I guess you also have to keep in mind that the firm is located in Hong Kong and invests in only APAC companies (ex Japan)

25% IRR hurdle is grossly high. I don't know how that firm would make money unless it's in the illegal drug trade.

Maybe total hurdle? Obviously not how market talks about it but maybe the dynamic / standard is different in APAC, I have no idea....

 
Best Response
fryguy22 Dingdong08: smeethu:

So, the PE firm I just interned at had a hurdle rate of 25%. Looking back and comparing that to some of these numbers, is that very high? I guess you also have to keep in mind that the firm is located in Hong Kong and invests in only APAC companies (ex Japan)

25% IRR hurdle is grossly high. I don't know how that firm would make money unless it's in the illegal drug trade.

Maybe total hurdle? Obviously not how market talks about it but maybe the dynamic / standard is different in APAC, I have no idea....

Now that you mention it, we were raising money from the PRC a few years ago and some of the very wealthy guys didn't think in terms of IRR (and honestly probably had no idea what it is). They talked more in terms of an annual return (basically a pref) or even something like double their money in 3 or 4 years and anything above that is yours. So maybe it's something like an 8% pref for 3 years from PRC investors.

 

So, just rechecked my notes and it was a complete misquote. The target IRR is 20-25%, while the hurdle rate is around 15%. I think that's still pretty high, but most of their investments are pretty risky across APAC. While there have been some companies that have given absurd money multiples, others have been awful (India....)

 

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