Knowledge
A reference library for fund administrators, CFOs and anyone who works with private equity capitalisation structures.
Glossary
A reference dictionary of the terms used in private equity fund management, cap table administration and portfolio reporting.
Articles
In-depth guides to the instruments and structures that make up a PE fund's capitalisation.
How pref shares work in PE structures — coupon mechanics, cumulative vs non-cumulative, participating vs non-participating, and their role in the waterfall.
Read the guide →Why PE funds use shareholder loans alongside equity — interest accrual, day-count conventions, PIK interest and the tax advantages of debt in acquisition structures.
Read the guide →Ordinary share classes in PE — sweet equity, management ratchets, alphabet shares and how different classes interact in the equity waterfall.
Read the guide →Day-count bases (Act/360, Act/365, 30/360), simple vs compound interest, PIK mechanics and how rounding affects long-running accruals.
Read the guide →LP → GP → Fund → SPV → TopCo → HoldCo → OpCo — why each layer exists, what it does, and how ownership flows through a typical Luxembourg structure.
Read the guide →How proceeds are distributed: debt repayment, pref coupon, pref principal, then ordinary shares — with worked examples showing money multiples at each tier.
Read the guide →Articles
How value flows to LPs and the GP — carry, performance metrics and the instruments that shape each investor's return.
How the GP's carry is calculated — return of capital, hurdle, catch-up and the 80/20 split — and European vs American waterfalls.
Read the guide →Why a fast 1.8x can beat a slow 2.5x on IRR but lose on multiple — and when each measure matters to LPs.
Read the guide →The fund performance ratios explained — realised vs unrealised value, the J-curve, and how they evolve over a fund's life.
Read the guide →How management reinvest and earn outsized upside through sweet equity, ratchets and good/bad leaver provisions.
Read the guide →Payment-in-kind interest — capitalising coupon into principal, why it is used, and how it compounds over the hold.
Read the guide →The terminology and the real differences — legal form, transferability and tax, including QCB status.
Read the guide →Articles
The vehicles behind a PE fund, and the practical realities of keeping the cap table accurate, multi-currency and audit-ready.
Why PE uses Luxembourg, and how the SCSp fund and SARL holding vehicles map onto the fund hierarchy.
Read the guide →How co-invest SPVs sit alongside the fund, why LPs want them, and how they complicate the cap table.
Read the guide →Native vs reporting currency, EUR-base FX rates, and translating cap tables across a multi-currency portfolio.
Read the guide →Why Excel is the default for PE cap tables — and exactly where it breaks at portfolio scale.
Read the guide →Why VC-focused cap table tools don't fit private equity, and what PE structures actually require.
Read the guide →What auditors ask for at year-end, the evidence they expect, and a checklist to be ready.
Read the guide →The best way to understand CapTab is to see your fund structure modelled in it.