Private equity funds: the cost of cashing out

Private equity funds are usually illiquid for invested limited partners over a fixed period of time. But, as the Global Crisis has shown, sometimes partners may need to cash out early. Enrique Schroth discusses how the cost of doing so, in terms of the discount partners pay on their investment, can be substantial. One quarter to one third of the variation in the discount paid for an early exit can be attributed to the amount of liquidity in the economy.