Diminishing Returns to Scale in Private Equity (w/ Andrew Akers, PitchBook)

Devin's mom's only instruction to her financial advisor was "the number should never go down." Downside protection is often the most attractive part of investing in a mega buyout fund, but the latest data from PitchBook calls that into question.

PitchBook's Andrew Akers goes deep on why bigger private equity funds don't always outperform smaller ones, why "manager selection skill" might be a myth, and why the biggest funds pay more, lever up more, and don't consistently improve the companies they own. 

Andrew is Associate Director of Quantitative Research at PitchBook, where he recently built a model that predicts which companies private equity takes private next. Before that he was an allocator to private equity so he brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

"Diminishing Returns to Scale" report: https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q3-2026-diminishing-returns-to-scale

Check out all of PitchBook's research at pitchbook.com.