Home Glossary
Private-Market Terms, Explained.
Plain definitions of the terms you’ll meet when selling or acquiring private-company shares and fund interests.
Terms, a to Z
Accredited Investor
An investor who meets the SEC’s income, net worth or professional criteria to invest in private securities. Buyers working with Sell Side Securities must be accredited investors.
Buy Side and Sell Side
The sell side represents those selling an asset; the buy side represents those acquiring it. In our work, sell-side advisory means representing the holder of private shares or a fund interest.
Direct Secondary
The sale of shares a fund or individual holds in a private company to another investor. See Direct secondaries for funds.
DPI (Distributions to Paid-In Capital)
Cash a fund has returned to its limited partners, divided by the capital they paid in.
Enterprise Value
A measure of a company’s total value. Our secondary work focuses on companies valued at $500 million or more.
GP Consent
The general partner’s approval required, in most funds, before a limited partner can transfer an interest.
LP Stake Sale
The transfer of a limited partner’s interest in a private fund to a new investor. See LP stake sales.
MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital)
The total value of a fund’s investments, realized and unrealized, divided by the capital invested.
Private Marks
The values a private company’s shares are carried at between priced rounds or transactions.
Qualified Purchaser
A higher investor standard than accredited investor, generally individuals with $5 million or more in investments, or entities with $25 million or more. We prefer qualified purchasers as buyers.
Right of First Refusal (ROFR)
A company’s right, or its investors’ right, to buy shares on the same terms before a holder can sell them to someone else.
Secondary Sale
The sale of existing shares by a current holder, rather than new shares issued by the company. See Selling private shares.
Sell Side Order
A trading term for an order to sell a publicly traded security. Sell Side Securities doesn’t handle public-market orders; our work is in private-company shares and fund interests.
Transfer Restrictions
Rules in a company’s documents that limit when and to whom shares can be sold.
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