The initial reaction in Germany following the very public comparison of Anglo-Saxon private equity financiers to swarms of “locusts” by Franz Muntefering, now Germany’s vice-chancellor, was one of deep suspicion and disdain for an investment model that threatened to ride roughshod over the patrician relationship between capital and society in Germany.
For the first time funds of private equity funds in Germany are being created specifically for the retail market. The disdain has changed to fascination for an asset class that, social contract notwithstanding, offers returns significantly ahead of those available through the more traditional investment models.
Research undertaken last year by