Forget medicine and law, today’s savvy parents would do well to urge their kids to take up a career in high finance — specifically, the cutthroat world of private equity. That’s if the prospectus of private equity firm Ethos, which has orchestrated mega-takeovers including Alexander Forbes, Defy and Twinsaver, is anything to go by.What emerges quite clearly is that Ethos is making a killing in fees. After buying a company, it first levies an annual "management fee" equal to 1.5% of the value of that company. Then Ethos charges another annual "performance fee" equal to 20% of the growth in that company’s net asset value that year (provided it meets certain targets).Sounds like it should be Cuban cigars and Laphroaig every day at Ethos’ offices.But that would be an exaggeration, says Ethos Capital CEO Peter Hayward-Butt. "The private equity model requires the firms to commit significant time and effort ... We’ve got 15 partners, scouring the market every day looking for deals."Still, ...
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