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The SEC says its first wave of private equity examinations—about 150 so far—included firms of all shapes and sizes. And the questionable behavior found by the SEC occurred across the board and not just in “fringe” firms.

The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management had a memorable 2013. Its accomplishments included portfolio exits that added materially to the larger Brookfield’s financial results last year – the strongest in its history. Two of these deals were recently in the news. A realized exit, the sale of Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, won Brookfield the Canadian PE industry’s most prestigious award. A planned exit, the sale of Ainsworth Lumber, was instead nixed after prolonged efforts to comply with regulatory requirements.

Chicago Growth Partners has decided to stop raising its third private equity fund and instead will pursue a different structure to invest capital in small growth companies, according to a memo the firm sent to limited partners.

Canadian private markets investor Northleaf Capital Partners has wrapped up a new fund earmarked for opportunities in the global private equity secondary market, peHUB Canada has learned. Northleaf Secondary Partners, launched in 2013, has raised a total of US$255 million. That’s 27% above the US$200 million target set for it. Northleaf managing director Jeff Pentland said he believes the fund exceeded expectations because of the powerful forces that are currently driving secondary buying and selling worldwide, as well as the firm’s 11-year track record of investing in the space.

Early investor reaction to the first wave of private equity examinations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ranges from skepticism, frustration that sponsors don’t provide as much information as investors ask for, to gratitude that the SEC is going to help improve behavior.

Some GPs—especially new shops that are raising debut funds—are offering zero percent management fees with 20 to 30 percent rates of carried interest, according to Prakash Mehta, partner and co-head of the investment management practices at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Spring is here, along with a welcome thaw to end a brutal winter. That is perhaps an apt metaphor for private equity fundraising, which also appears to be warming up. The final close of Onex Partners IV LP, the fourth partnership of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp, provides a timely example. Fund IV has been wrapped up with US$5.15 billion in total capital committed. According to Onex, it is the largest fundraise in its history.

Private equity professional Devin Mathews shares the secrets to not only surviving, but also thriving as an associate at a private equity firm.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has found "violations of law" and "material weaknesses in controls" in GPs' treatment of fees and expenses in more than half of the 150 private equity firm examinations completed so far.

A proposed commitment to the Warburg Pincus Energy Fund failed to win approval by the Oregon Investment Council after the manager of the $70 billion state pension system raised questions over its economic terms.