An investment strategy may offer compelling prospects. For those committing capital, however, the assessment involves further questions: when will their money be returned, how is portfolio value substantiated and what happens when an exit takes longer than expected?
In private equity, these questions connect managers’ performance with investors’ needs. Business growth, valuations and cash distributions represent different aspects of the same investment relationship. Understanding expectations on both sides becomes particularly important when investment horizons lengthen.
Angele Paris, Senior Research Consultant at CoreData Research, UK, will bring this perspective to the 12th International Funds Summit, taking place on 16 November 2026 at Parklane, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Limassol.
Paris brings extensive experience in investor and financial services research. She joined CoreData in 2011 as one of the first members of its international team, helping establish and develop the firm’s presence in the UK and Europe.
As CoreData expanded beyond its original focus on financial adviser research, Paris helped support its development into institutional and global research projects. Today, she works with financial institutions to design research that helps them understand different types of investors.
That experience provides a useful starting point for the Summit discussion: how do those providing the capital assess an investment’s success?
The session on private equity value creation will examine operational improvement, strategic transformation and longer holding periods. Central to the discussion is managers’ ability to explain how value is being built within portfolio companies and how that value can ultimately be realised.
Particular attention will be given to the relationship between Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Distributions to Paid-In Capital (DPI). These measures illuminate different aspects of performance. For investors, portfolio valuations and capital already returned must be considered together when assessing a fund’s progress.
This leads to a consequential decision: when should a manager sell an investment, and when should it be held for longer? The prospect of additional growth must be weighed against available offers, time and investors’ liquidity requirements.
Sales to strategic buyers, transactions between financial sponsors and public listings form part of the session’s agenda. Co-investments and innovative capital structures will also be examined, alongside Net Asset Value financing. A common consideration is their effect on liquidity and the alignment of interests between managers and investors.
These questions carry implications beyond individual transactions. Decisions about holding periods and distributions influence investors’ ability to make new commitments, while the clarity of managers’ explanations helps investors assess whether a strategy continues to meet their objectives.
Paris is also an experienced conference chair, moderator and interviewer, having led discussions with senior financial industry executives. Her combination of research experience and dialogue with market participants adds a valuable dimension: understanding the criteria behind investment decisions.
For fund managers, institutional investors, investment advisers and fund services professionals, her participation offers an opportunity to examine value creation through the expectations of those financing the strategy.
Under the theme “Alternative Funds and the New Capital Economy”, the 12th International Funds Summit provides a forum for exchanging perspectives and developing professional relationships. The discussion ultimately concerns the quality of the relationship between capital providers and managers: clear expectations, informed decisions and results that can be assessed.
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CONFERENCE INFORMATION
Organisers: IMH and IN Business magazine
Platinum Partners: Bank of Cyprus, bbf:, Deloitte Cyprus, Elias Neocleous & Co LLC, Finstella
In association with: Cyprus LSE Alumni Association
Mobility Partner: TOYOTA
Supported by: Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), Invest Cyprus, National Betting Authority, Cyprus Shipping Chamber
Media Partners: Alpha Cyprus, Cyprus Business News (CBN), GOLD magazine
For further information and registrations, please contact IMH:
Telephone: 77777741
Fax: 22679820
Email: events@imhbusiness.com
