Private Equity and Strategy Veteran to Lead Cambridge Associates' Private Investment Benchmark Services

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Nov 12, 2012) - Richard L. Carson has joined Cambridge Associates as Director of Benchmark Services. He will oversee the ongoing expansion of the firm's private investment benchmarks, which currently include data from over 5,000 private partnerships with more than 65,000 underlying portfolio companies around the world.

Cambridge Associates is a global provider of independent investment advice and research to institutional and private clients. The firm's proprietary benchmark data are compiled from investment managers' financial statements and relied upon by sophisticated institutional investors across the globe.

"We are committed to continuing to invest in the quality of, and the due diligence and technology behind, our benchmarks and databases, which span more than 30 years of data collection. Rich's significant experience at the intersection of strategy development, private equity and international business will help us ensure that our benchmarks continue to offer our clients, consultants and strategic partners the best possible tools to measure the performance of institutional-quality private investments," said Cambridge Associates President and Chief Operating Officer Scott A. Berney.

Mr. Carson joins Cambridge from Monitor Group, the strategy consulting firm, which he joined in 1986. After ten years in Europe, he returned to the United States and joined Monitor's private equity arm. He was most recently Managing Director at Monitor Capital, where he was responsible for leading the sourcing, qualification and development of all new firm-sponsored private equity funds and partnerships, with a particular focus on emerging markets such as Colombia, Brazil, the Middle East, Africa, India and China.

"I believe the Cambridge Associates benchmarks are unique in their data integrity and breadth of asset class and geographic coverage, making the benchmarks a key resource to the industry," said Mr. Carson. "It is also important to note that our benchmark data come from financial statements and information provided directly to us by investment managers as opposed to public sources, which can often be less reliable. Furthermore, the firm does not accept fees from managers to participate in the database. I am thrilled to be able to build on this valuable and truly differentiated asset. There are many exciting new things that we can do to leverage this information for the benefit of Cambridge's consultants, client base and our many strategic partners in the private investments world."

Prior to Monitor Group, Mr. Carson was a Senior Consultant at Arthur Andersen's Management Information Consulting Division. He holds a BA from Texas A&M and an MBA from Harvard. He will be based in Cambridge's Boston office.

About Cambridge Associates and the Indices

Founded in 1973, Cambridge Associates is a provider of independent investment advice and research to institutional investors and private clients worldwide. Today the firm serves over 900 global investors and delivers a range of services, including investment consulting, outsourced portfolio solutions, research services and tools (Research Navigator^sm and Benchmark Calculator), and performance monitoring, across all asset classes. Cambridge Associates has more than 1,000 employees serving its client base globally and maintains offices in Arlington, VA; Boston; Dallas; Menlo Park, CA; London; Singapore; Sydney; and Beijing. Cambridge Associates consists of five global investment consulting affiliates that are all under common ownership and control. For more information about Cambridge Associates, please visit www.cambridgeassociates.com.

Cambridge Associates has been selected to provide data and to develop and maintain customized industry benchmarks for a number of prominent industry associations, including the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL); the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA); the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA); the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA); the New Zealand Private Equity & Venture Capital Association Inc. (NZVCA); and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Cambridge also provides data and analysis to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA).

Cambridge's proprietary benchmarks include the Cambridge Associates LLC U.S. Private Equity Index®, which is based on returns data compiled for U.S. private equity funds that represent the majority of institutional capital raised by private equity partnerships formed since 1986; and the Cambridge Associates LLC U.S. Venture Capital Index® which is based on data compiled on funds that represent the majority of institutional capital raised by U.S. venture capital partnerships formed since 1981. Cambridge Associates also produces benchmarks for other private investments including global (ex-U.S.) private equity and venture capital; real estate; natural resources; distressed securities; funds of funds; and secondary funds.