Thoma Bravo's AuM has grown from $3 Bn in 2012 to $91 Bn today

Extremely impressive.

Thoma Bravo AuM FT

Returns have been remarkable as well:

Thoma Bravo Funds Return

If you want to read the article : https://www.ft.com/content/456f2fd7-f868-4ea6-abd7-fce34e783333

16 Comments
 

edit: This was the original set of questions before I deleted them and made a new post about them

what do multiple funds in a PE firm mean?

Do the funds represent the characteristics of companies they invest in? For example, XIV is for large caps only, XIII for mid caps, XII for small caps, XI for pre-revenue companies (tech companies), II for companies that generate abc EBITDA per year, X for companies in NYC etc.

When PE firms take money from LPs, do the LPs care which funds their money goes into? I would have thought that LPs are like "we want a certain risk exposure to balance our portfolio ..." so it would only make sense for their money to be in certain funds in order to derive such an exposure 

What do the numbers of the fund size represent? Is it like the amount of money it has from day 1 the fund is opened? The total amount of capital invested into the companies at entry?

My understanding is that a fund is 'opened' when the PE firm has finished raising capital so it can now start investing in companies for that fund. When a fund closes is that when it has exited out of all its portco companies in that fund? or when it no longer accepts capital for the fund

sorry for the long-winded questions, appreciate if anyone can provide some color, again many thx

 
Most Helpful

I'll keep this high level. Multiple Funds just means that Thoma Bravo has raised capital on numerous occasions. Each fund is its own separate entity because of the way investment laws are in the US. The funds do not necessarily represent the "characteristics" of the companies they invest in. They represent companies covered by the fund mandate. So, I can't speak to what Thoma Bravo vs Special Ops vs Discovery have as their respective fund mandates, but they invest in what the mandate allows. I wouldn't be surprised if the Thoma Bravo funds have the broadest mandate (so anything goes) while Special Ops and Discovery have more well-defined mandates. In terms of the numbering, Thoma Bravo has raised a number of funds over the years. The number just represents which fund it is in a given series or family of funds. If you take a look, there's Thoma Bravo Special Ops I and II and Discover I and II, or Bravo X, XI, XII, XIII, and XIV, it just means that it's Fund number "Whatever" in a given fund series. 

When PE firms raise capital for a fund, they raise it for a specific fund. If Thoma Bravo was raising capital for the TBL I fund that specifically sought to invest in distressed rug makers and bowling alleys, they would pitch the TBL I fund. If investors are interested, they'd invest in it, otherwise they will wait for another opportunity. If investors want exposure to certain areas, they find funds with the exposure they want that are raising capital. Again, this has to do with the legal aspects; you're committing capital to a specific fund, not the manager to distribute as they want. 

Fund Size represents committed capital. This is how much money that investors have agreed to put up for the fund to use over the life of the fund. 

IF I'm missing anything, please chime in and fill in the missing details. 

 

This just highlights for me the importance of being in “good neighborhoods” when thinking about a career. There are probably countless analysts, associates, VPs who were average or good—but not great—investors at places like TB, Vista, Insight, etc post-GFC who are now rich simply because their firms bet big and bet correctly. And if you were an amazing investor at any of these places, you got REALLY rich.

 

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