2018 GSB SF Study: Selected Observations

VIA STANFORD GSB —

… EXCERPT …

Search fund activity has flourished in the two years since our last study. The number of active searches is at an all-time high, although the number of newly raised search funds has leveled out, and search fund entrepreneurs acquired a record 17 companies in 2017. In this 2018 study, we include both more search funds and returns data from the highest proportion of known funds in recent studies… We expand our analysis of entrepreneur salaries and equity, explore the geographical considerations of search funds, and include new analyses of investor returns.

“The number of search funds raised and acquisitions completed has increased steadily over the years, as seen [above]. The rise in acquisitions roughly follows the rise in funds raised, while exits vary considerably by year.”

2018 Search Fund Study, Selected Observations, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 9/24/2018, page 4.