PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Rafael Castilla AU - Felicia David-Visser AU - David Brophy TI - Proposing a New Metric: Private Fund Duration AID - 10.3905/jpm.2022.1.397 DP - 2022 Jul 15 TA - The Journal of Portfolio Management PG - jpm.2022.1.397 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/early/2022/07/15/jpm.2022.1.397.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/early/2022/07/15/jpm.2022.1.397.full AB - The authors propose a tripartite metric, private fund duration (PFD) (PFDx, PFDy, PFDz), to assist investors in the analysis of the duration of private funds and investments. In brief, PFDx is the amount-weighted average time of all the contributions to a fund or investment, PFDy is the amount-weighted average time from inception for the fund or investment to return its capital (when distributions equal contributions), and PFDz is the amount-weighted average time for all distributions. An example PFD can be written in years, thus: PFD (3.4, 5.1, 8.0). The authors argue that the PFD is the missing metric that with the multiple on invested capital (MOIC) and the internal rate of return (IRR) can provide a complete summary picture of the cash-flow characteristics of a private fund or investment. The PFD can be used in the monitoring, analysis, and comparison of different private fund and investment opportunities, trends, structures, and strategies, particularly with respect to liquidity and outstanding commitments. The Online Supplement illustrates one application of PFD using Burgiss data in different asset classes for different vintages: creating benchmarks for PFD.