For most of PE history, the default firm was a generalist: one fund, one investment committee, any industry with cash flow. Since the late 1990s, and especially since the 2010s, a large share of the industry's best returns and largest funds have come from sector specialists. Examples include Thoma Bravo and Vista in software, Welsh Carson and Consonance in healthcare, L Catterton and Roark in consumer, AIP and Arcline in industrials, and Stone Point and J.C. Flowers in financial services. Generalist megafirms responded by building sector verticals inside their platforms. This section covers why specialization works, where it fails, and how the five big sector playbooks differ.
What the study covers
- 1Overview
- 2How it works
- 3Economics and key numbers by sector
- 4Key players and landmark deals
- 5Risks and pitfalls
- 6How an expert thinks about it
- 7Glossary
- 8Related sections