David Toll

A little-noted aspect of the first set of examinations of private equity shops by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is that the agency in some cases picked firms considered to be more likely to have compliance problems, sister magazine Buyouts reported. That fact may help explain the high percentage of problems found.

After a two-year hiatus, Randy Schwimmer is back with his weekly e-newsletter covering the middle-market leveraged lending scene. The Lead Left, which debuted last week, is the successor to On the Left, the popular e-newsletter that Schwimmer wrote while he was a senior managing director and head of capital markets at Churchill Financial.

David C. Turner, who is stepping down as managing director and head of private equity at Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, talks to sister magazine Reuters Buyouts about private equity, venture capital and the risks of market peaks.

Peter J. Nolan has decided to become a senior adviser at Leonard Green & Partners, stepping back from his managing partner role to spend more time doing charitable work and managing his family office.

The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System will tell you that its private equity portfolio has generated a net IRR of 11.1 percent through the end of June 2013. But don’t ask for the details. The pension fund believes that the returns of individual funds are trade secrets, according to sister publication Buyouts.

David C. Turner, who seven years ago started a private equity portfolio for the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and led its growth to more than $1 billion, is stepping down effective May 30, sister magazine Buyouts reported. Turner will hand the reins to Managing Director Maurice Gordon.

The sheer number of consultants available presents a big challenge. Assuming you don’t have the budget to hire one of the big guns, how do you make sure that your project and your consultant are a good match? And how do you get a competitive price? Sister magazine Buyouts checks in with a startup that is seeking to address the issue.

David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO of the Carlyle Group and a proponent of the democratization of private equity, suggested this week his firm was working on a fresh offering aimed at retail investors, sister magazine Buyouts reported.

Sister publication Buyouts sat down on March 20 for a Q&A with Ken Mehlman, who was elected chairman of the Private Equity Growth Capital Council late last year. He discussed the political scene, the impact of Dodd-Frank, and more.

Direct investments by the California Public Employees' Retirement System and OMERS Private Equity have generated strong returns, suggesting that a recent Harvard Business School paper showing that directs do no better than fund investments won’t end debate on the question.