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An investment committee memo is the written case a private equity deal team puts in front of the partners who can approve buying a company. The associate drafts it. The committee votes.

A private equity analyst is hired out of undergrad and owns pieces of a live deal: comps, data-room hygiene, first-pass research, model updates. They do not coordinate the process or vote. Many large buyout shops skip the title.

A private equity vice president keeps a live deal moving: the workstreams, the advisors, the memo. They recommend a price and a structure. They do not write the check. The same title is a different job at a megafund, a middle-market shop, and a growth fund.

A private equity modeling test checks whether you can turn a deal prompt into a correct, auditable LBO model before time runs out. Includes a 60- and 90-minute practice case with answers.

A private equity associate owns the file on a live deal: the model, the diligence, the memo. They do not decide whether the fund buys. The same title is a different job at a megafund, a middle-market shop, and a growth fund.

Private equity interviews mix fit, technical LBO questions, deal discussion, and a modeling test. Megafund on-cycle rooms weight speed. Middle-market off-cycle rooms weight judgment and firm homework.

A private equity fund has to sell. A trade sale, a secondary buyout, an IPO, a dividend recap, or a continuation vehicle converts the company into cash so limited partners can be paid.

A co-investment is equity a limited partner puts into a specific company beside the sponsor's main fund, usually outside that fund. Fees are often cut or waived. The sponsor still controls the company.

Middle-market private equity is a size label on a buyout. The fund still takes control of a company that already produces cash, often with a loan on that company's balance sheet, holds it for several years, and has to sell.

A private equity fund buys companies and has to return cash before the fund ends. A hedge fund trades liquid securities and marks the book. Both charge a management fee and a profit share. The vehicles are different.

A private equity fund is a limited partnership. The general partner controls it. Limited partners put up the capital, take limited liability, and do not run the companies.

Total value to paid-in is cash already returned plus remaining NAV, each divided by capital paid in. A 1.8x that is mostly DPI is not the same fund as a 1.8x that is mostly a mark.