The rise of private equity and the spread of private markets are returning power to a club of privileged investors.

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If the stock market goes up--thus narrowing the Fisher Spread--the private equity firm can take its companies public.

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If the stock market goes down--thus expanding the spread-- the private equity firm can mark up its companies and sell them to other companies.

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To diversify, they go to investment companies who spread that risk out among equity fund managers, emerging market specialists, bond specialists and currency funds.

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Although not linked in monetary union the crisis spread like wildfire and other regional currencies and equity markets slipped.

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He's pursuing returns he thinks will exceed U.S. markets by at least 15 percentage points but also hoping to spread the message that the free flow of private equity and venture capital to bright entrepreneurial firms in Africa can be a superior alternative to the traditional development funds funneled through the likes of the World Bank.

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With a basket spread widely around the globe, Brinson argues, you can get equity-like returns with the low volatility you would expect from a balanced portfolio (a mixture of stocks and bonds).

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Unlike the owners of public companies, who tend to be too remote and thinly spread to spend time and money closely monitoring a business, private-equity firms have big stakes.

ECONOMIST: Private equity