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Private Equity and Venture Capital Explained: Risk, Returns and Portfolio Construction

October 16, 2026 · 54 min

Show notes

This week Paul is joined by Alan Merriman, founder of Elkstone, for an educational conversation on private equity and venture capital, an asset class that’s becoming more accessible to Irish investors but is still widely misunderstood.


Some highlights:

- How venture capital fits within private equity

- Why 87% of global market value sits in private companies, not public ones

- Alan’s view on what percentage of a portfolio makes sense for private equity

- Why a portfolio of 25 to 30 venture companies behaves very differently to a single bet

- The reality of liquidity, time horizons, and risk


A straightforward, educational conversation for anyone looking to understand private equity before considering whether it has a place in their own portfolio.


For a 1:1 consultation and more: https://askaboutwealth.ie/consultancy

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