Associations from Around the World Join in Support of Updated Terminology

January 29, 2019 (Washington, DC and Boston, MA) – The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) and Cambridge Associates (CA) today pledged, and encouraged other stakeholders in the private equity and venture capital industries, to employ the term “key person” in all legal references on a go-forward basis. The gender-neutral term will permanently replace “key man” in all Limited Partner Agreements (LPAs) as well as other documents and best practice discussions which refer to executives vital to the operation of a fund.

Joining ILPA and CA in their support of the future use of this terminology are more than a dozen private equity and venture capital associations from around the world including: The American Investment Council (AIC), the Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL), The Brazilian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (ABVCAP), the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA), Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), the Hong Kong Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (HKVCA), the Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Invest Europe, the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA), the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), the New Zealand Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (NZVCA), and the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCA).

“This focused change is one that ILPA is committed to advance in the private equity industry and we applaud all those who join us in doing so. Words matter and the term ‘key man’ is outdated and overdue for replacement. ILPA will continue to use ‘key person’ in our resources, guidelines, model documents and principles, and we encourage our members as well as our partners in the legal community to do the same,” said Steve Nelson, CEO of ILPA.

“Research has shown time and again that diversity of thought and perspective leads to better investment returns, better business strategies and stronger organizations overall. We’re committed to helping the investment industry become more diverse and inclusive. A small step is to apply ‘key person’ exclusively in all legal references, and we ask our clients and others in the ecosystem to commit to the same standard,” said Andrea Auerbach, Head of Global Private Investments at Cambridge Associates.

As part of the campaign to effect change and establish the “key person” terminology as the industry standard, GPs, LPs, advisors, fund-of funds, law firms and others are invited to share their own commitment in a public statement and on social media using the hashtag #keypersonpledge.

About ILPA

The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) engages, empowers and connects limited partners to maximize their performance on an individual, institutional and collective basis. With approximately 500 member institutions representing over $2 trillion USD of private equity assets under management, ILPA is the only global organization dedicated exclusively to advancing the interests of LPs and their beneficiaries through best-in-class education, research, advocacy and events. For more information, please visit ILPA.org.

About Cambridge Associates

Cambridge Associates is a leading global investment firm. We aim to help endowments & foundations, pension plans, and private clients implement and manage custom investment portfolios that generate outperformance so they can maximize their impact on the world. Working alongside its early clients, among them leading university endowments, the firm pioneered the strategy of high-equity orientation and broad diversification, which since the 1980s has been a primary driver of performance for institutional investors. Cambridge Associates delivers a range of services, including outsourced CIO, non-discretionary portfolio management, and investment advisory services.

Cambridge Associates maintains offices in Boston; Arlington, VA; Beijing; Dallas; London; Menlo Park, CA; New York; San Francisco; Singapore; and Sydney. Cambridge Associates consists of five global investment affiliates that are all under common ownership and control. For more information, please visit www.cambridgeassociates.com.