Private Markets Cert study plan

Define private markets and distinguish them from public markets across liquidity, disclosure, ownership, and valuation conventions

Map the main asset classes (private equity, private credit, real assets, infrastructure, venture) and state each one's typical return driver and cash-flow profile

Build a one-page glossary of at least 40 core terms covering capital calls, distributions, J-curve, vintage year, dry powder, and carried interest

Explain the limited partner / general partner structure, including the roles of the fund manager, the LP advisory board, and the placement agent

Trace the full fund lifecycle from fundraising and first close through investment period, harvest, and wind-down

Diagram the cash-flow pattern of a fund and label where the J-curve trough typically falls and why

Compute net IRR and TVPI from a small hypothetical cash-flow schedule you construct yourself

Contrast commitment pacing strategies and explain how a target allocation translates into annual commitments

Explain the economics of a fund: management fee, fee offsets, carried interest, hurdle rate, and catch-up, and show how each changes LP net return

Model a simple waterfall with an 8% preferred return and 20% carry, then compare it against a European-style whole-fund waterfall

Identify the main alignment mechanisms such as GP commitment, clawback, and key-person clauses

Summarize the principal-agent conflicts between LPs and GPs and the contractual tools that mitigate them

Describe the due diligence process for selecting a fund, including track record analysis, reference checks, and operational review

Explain how to normalize a track record for vintage, fund size, and sector exposure before drawing conclusions

Outline the primary legal documents in a fund subscription and the clauses that most affect LP economics

List the main regulatory considerations affecting private fund marketing and investor eligibility in major jurisdictions, flagging anything you cannot verify

Explain how private assets are valued, including fair value frameworks, calibration to transaction prices, and the role of the valuation committee

Contrast valuation approaches for early-stage venture, buyout, and private credit, and note where judgment dominates

Identify the risks of stale or smoothed valuations and how they affect reported volatility and correlation

Describe the audit and third-party valuation review process

Build a portfolio construction rationale for including private markets, covering illiquidity premium, diversification claims, and their limits

Model a simple commitment schedule against expected distributions and show the resulting allocation drift

Explain the denominator effect and how rebalancing works when private holdings cannot be sold quickly

Describe secondaries and continuation vehicles as liquidity tools, including their main conflicts of interest

Compare private credit, infrastructure, and real assets on yield source, duration, leverage, and downside behavior

Explain co-investment and direct investment structures and when an LP would prefer them to a blind pool

Summarize the operational burden of private markets programs: capital call management, cash forecasting, and reporting

Draft concise answers to ten likely exam-style scenario questions and check each against your notes

Consolidate all prior notes into a single condensed review sheet of no more than five pages

Re-test every weak area identified in weeks 1-7 and log the outcome of each retest

Complete a timed full-length mock under exam conditions and review every incorrect answer

State your remaining knowledge gaps explicitly and decide whether each needs more study or can be accepted as low-probability