In this paper Pablo Fernandez, professor of finance at IESE Business School in Madrid, describes the four main groups comprising the most widely used company valuation methods. Professor Fernandez argues that the methods that are conceptually correct are those based on cash flow discounting.

This joint survey of global private equity buyout firms by Preqin and LexisNexis Enterprise Solutions covered the three main areas of: deal flow orientation; deal sourcing methods; and CRM software in deal sourcing.

SEB, the Northern European financial group, comments on hedge funds in the attached article. It suggests violent fluctuations in risk appetite are making life easier for some hedge funds and significantly more challenging for others.

This special report from Preqin features two main articles on one of the most important issues in the hedge fund industry today – liquidity.

In its September edition of Outlook, Smith & Williamson looks again at changes in world markets and how these will affect investments. It considers the double whammy of dysfunctional political leadership on each side of the Atlantic and concerns about the fragility of the US economy.