Letter from the EMPEA Board
Dear EMPEA members,
On behalf of EMPEA and our Board of Directors, I wish you a very happy New Year and thank you for your continued membership in our global community of private investment professionals. We look forward to partnering with you in 2018, which is already shaping up to be a year of important milestones for our industry.
Our continued vision for the association is to have an organization of active members. On behalf of the EMPEA Board, I encourage you to continue to participate in EMPEA’s discussion forums, networking events, research efforts, and industry advocacy. We’ve mindfully constructed a range of year-round opportunities for our members to participate in the EMPEA community whether that be through introductions facilitated by the EMPEA team, via your own outreach to EMPEA contacts listed in our Member Directory, or by attending an EMPEA conference or networking event. Our 12 Leadership Councils provide further opportunity for participation and dialogue. Your ongoing feedback is key in order to continue building a member-centric community and services that you value.
For member firms on the fundraising trail in 2018, or planning new investments in emerging markets, EMPEA is here to support your efforts. We are the primary conveners of a large community of vetted fund manager members and limited partners from around the world, representing US$5 trillion in assets.
EMPEA members have strongly indicated there are signs of momentum for fundraising and new transactions in 2018. EMPEA membership gives you access to knowledge about emerging market private capital opportunities and creates the meetings and other forums for related discussions. Our dataset provides insight on the vast opportunities in emerging markets seen in the fund closes, deals and exits taking place globally. EMPEA brings these developments to the attention of our members, the financial media, and potential limited partner investors.
As long term investors, we continue to examine new investment trends, including the growth of venture capital, private credit and impact investing. These developments represent a broadening and deepening of private capital in emerging markets. We seek to play a key role in helping facilitate the evolution of these investment advancements, by removing barriers to investment, and tracking and analyzing the data across markets. EMPEA has a proven track record in helping facilitate the evolution of the industry. We remain dedicated to the work we started with our members 14 years ago for what was then a newly forming emerging markets private equity asset class.
We will continue to respond to areas of challenge on the investment landscape in our markets. The latest member survey highlighted political risk, currency fluctuation, and exit opportunities as creating challenges. While EMPEA’s research and advocacy efforts have been tackling currency risk mitigation, alternative pathways to liquidity and regulatory challenges, we intend to engage our members even more actively on the solutions to these issues.
2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the IFC and EMPEA’s Global Private Equity Conference in May, which will focus on new approaches and alternative investment strategies, both inside and outside of the private equity model. We hope to see many of you in Washington to celebrate the milestone of our 20th annual industry gathering and discuss the best ways forward for the next two decades.
Sincerely,
Robert Petty
Chairman of the Board, EMPEA
Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Clearwater Capital Partners