VC Primer: The J Curve

In private equity and venture capital there is something called the J-curve effect. This basically means that in the early years of a fund, the book value of investments will show losses and decline, then in subsequent years (usually 3 or more), the fund's value rises. The J curve is important for several reasons. Investors in search of funds will typically seek out the fund's internal rate of return (IRR). This can be misleading precisely because of the J curve effect - funds early in their life cycle do not typically show the true value of their investments on their books because of the J curve. One or two big winners and the IRR can be completely different. The J curve also has a nice effect for investors who must sustain the tax consequences of their investments. The accumulated losses over the first few years of a fund are nice losses to show because they are "unrealized" losses. For investors wanting to take advantage of the J curve effect, secondary funds are a good way to get into funds later in the J curve. Similarly, some argue that every company has a J curve and that the different stages of investing utilize the different stages of the J curve. Early investors get in at the beginning of the curve and take the most risks while later stage investors come in at the crest of the curve to minimize risk.