日前，我在波士顿郊外的一个高尔夫俱乐部对一群来自私募股权和风投公司的首席财务官们发表了主题演讲。和这群人聊天总是很有意思，他们是公司稳定经营不可或缺的一分子，但（多数情况下）没有像投资部门的同事那样获得超高报酬。

    我要传达的基本信息是：如今在有限合伙人/一般合伙人利益协调的问题上亟需创新。

    首先，我相信风险投资和私募股权都很重要。非常重要。有些读者可能认为，我总是批评风险投资和私募投资，是因为对它们心存偏见，根本不是这码事。我批评是因为我关注。风险投资是创新的必要成分，它能帮助创造一些永久改变（有时拯救）我们生活的产品。私募股权可能没那么高尚，但我在很多大的上市公司里工作时都亲眼目睹过长远判断力让位于短期利益的案例。好的私募股权能让企业更强大，让员工更加有生产力（通过好的方式）等等。

    但最重要的是，我关注是因为风投和私募股权帮助为大学和慈善基金所做的重要工作提供资金，帮助确保公共和私营领域的数百万员工顺利退休。这就是为什么这些年来我写了这么多文章，谈论一般合伙人/有限合伙人的利益协调以及历来缺失的问题。

    自我开始关注这个行业以来，如今一般合伙人/有限合伙人的利益一致程度前所未有地高。很大一部分原因是持续的经济衰退让很多一般合伙人从主宰者沦为了可怜鬼。但我相信另一个原因是市场意识到没有一种资产类别能在和受益人持续唱对台戏的情况下永葆成功，这方面大有改进空间。

    我们已看到管理费结构的调整，交易费/监督协定也变得越来越公正合理（尽管这样的收费应当完全取消）。我希望考夫曼基金会（Kauffman Foundation）最近的一项研究能说服更多的一般合伙人同意将更多公司财务信息透露给有限合伙人，因为这有助于预测未来的摩擦或团队离职。我们看到有些公司正在重新评估最惠国条款，考虑大宗买入是否也适用于另类投资。或者最近出现的为大型有限合伙人服务的定制管理账户。

    最值得关注的是近期贝恩资本（Bain Capital）朝着点菜式基金结构迈出的一步：为其亚洲基金投资者提供两种选择，而且（很快）将向其一般收购基金的投资者（外加其共同投资边车基金）提供三种选择。

    It's time for venture capital and private equity firms to innovate.

    Yesterday I gave a keynote speech to a group of private equity and venture capital CFOs, at a rain-soaked golf club just outside of Boston. Always an interesting group of folks to chat with, given that they are integral to firm operations but (in most cases) not compensated in the same way as their investing colleagues.

    My basic message: Now is the time to be creative when it comes to LP/GP alignment.

    For starters, I believe both venture capital and private equity matter. A lot. I know certain readers think I have deep-seated animosity toward my beat, but it's just not so. I criticize because I care. Venture capital is a necessary ingredient of innovation, helping to create the products that indelibly change, and sometimes save, our lives. Private equity may be a bit less noble, but I've worked inside of massive publicly-traded companies and have seen how short-term interests often overwhelm long-term common sense. At its best, private equity can make businesses stronger, employees more productive (in a good way), etc.

    But most importantly, I care because venture capital and private equity help fund the important work being done by universities and charitable foundations. And because they can help secure the retirements of millions of workers in both the public and private sectors. That's why I've written so much over the years about GP/LP alignment, and the historical lack thereof.

    To me, GP/LP alignment currently is stronger than it has been in any other time since I began covering the industry. A big part of that was the prolonged recession, which turned many GPs from tyrants into beggars. But I also think there was a realization that an asset class cannot survive forever with the deck stacked against its own beneficiaries, and that there is plenty of upside to go around.

    We have seen management fee structures change, and transaction fee/monitoring agreements become more equitable (even though such fees should simply be eliminated). I'm hoping that the recent Kauffman Foundation study will help convince more GPs to disclose firm economics to limited partners, since it can help predict future friction or team departures. We've seen certain firms reevaluate most-favored-nations clauses, wondering if bulk-buying should apply to alternative investments like it does most everywhere else. Or the recent advent of custom managed accounts for larger limited partners.

    Most notably, we have Bain Capital's recent move toward a-la-carte fund structures – offering two options to its Asia Fund investors and (soon) three options to its general buyout fund investors (plus its co-invest sidecar).