20 Must-Read Resources for the Private Markets

As a regular reader of Forum, you likely already know how important it is to keep up to date on the latest trends in the private capital markets. But without the same reporting requirements as the public markets and because many private deals go unannounced, finding information and intelligence on private companies often proves a challenge. Whether you’re a CEO looking for intel on your competitors or an investor wanting information on the top performing companies in your focus industry, staying on top of changes and developments relevant to your business and potential investments can sometimes feel overwhelming.

To this end, we’ve compiled a list of some of the top reporters, influencers, and private market resources to keep you up to speed.

Deals Download

• We read Hillary Canada’s coverage in The Wall Street Journal religiously, from the roundup of leveraged finance news during our morning cup of coffee, to her analysis of how the asset class is faring. Follow her on Twitter @H_Canada.
• Mergers & Acquisitions’ Allison Collins pumps out several articles daily covering the latest middle market deals. Follow her on Twitter at @_A_Collins.
• Jonathan Marino recently moved from his M&A focused post at The Deal to tackle transaction-related news at Business Insider.  Follow him @JonMarino.
• PE Hub’s Chris Witkowsky and his team cover deals, people, performance, careers and opinions in and around the deal community. Follow him at @ChrisWitkowsky.
• Dan Primack is well known as the editor of Fortune’s  Term Sheet, a daily newsletter covering all things M&A, private equity, and venture capital. Follow him on Twitter @DanPrimack.

C-Suite News

• Our partners at Vistage, the CEO peer network, produce the Executive Street blog publishing sound advice and educational pieces on growth strategies, hiring and management, and financing their business. Follow them @Vistage.
• Chief Executive Magazine is a go-to publication for middle market CEOs on everything from leadership and strategy to marketing and sales to technology. They also have a once-monthly newsletter specific to manufacturing CEOs. Follow them @ChiefExecGrp.
• CFO Magazine is your corporate finance department’s right-hand resource on everything from operations to navigating the capital markets to strategy. Follow them @cfo.
• Some of our favorite big picture pieces on business strategy and leadership come from Harvard Business Review and Strategy + Business. Produced by one of the top MBA programs and largest consulting firms respectively, these two resources take a more thought provoking approach publishing some unique perspectives and posing some interesting questions. Follow them @HarvardBiz and @stratandbiz.

Industry Insights

• If you’re a senior executive, banker, advisor or investor in the manufacturing industry, IndustryWeek is a comprehensive trade publication covering the “business” of manufacturing. Follow them on Twitter @IndustryWeek.
• For deal professionals in the energy space or anyone looking to keep current on what’s going on in the much-talked about industry, Oil & Gas Investor is your go-to. Follow them @OilnGasInvestor.
• There’s a magazine for everything. Niche publications like Beef Today, Packaging World, Waste 360 and Electric Perspectives are just a sampling of super-specific industry and sector news resources for anyone looking to take a deeper dive. They are all on Twitter at @BeefToday, @PackagingWorld, @Waste360 and @Edison_Electric.

Data, Data, Data

• Our partners at National Center for the Middle Market release quarterly data on the state of the middle market in addition to producing regular expert content for companies and deal professionals in the middle market. Follow them @MidMarketCenter.
• With a bit of a tilt toward the VC community, CB Insights is a prime resource for data on private companies, their investors, and industry analysis. Follow them @CBinsights.
• Preqin is a great source of data and intelligence for the alternative investment community. From private equity to hedge funds to lending, they have excellent insights. Follow them on Twitter @preqin.
• Pitchbook’s PE, VC and M&A data and insights are a vital tool for any private market participant. Follow them @pitchbook.

This is only a sampling of the dozens of resources that cover the private capital markets. Let us know what else you read in the comments below. Lastly, we must include a note for Forum. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive daily insights on transaction processes, industry information, business development. We also take expert content and article ideas — email [email protected] to submit your ideas or discuss contributing to Forum.