Curated resources for private equity teams—from analysts to CFOs.

Explore expert-written articles, guides, and tools to help you start a private equity firm, close your first fund, understand portco equity, and everything in between.

Getting started

Author: The Carta Team
Date: March 2026
Featured article: Private equity: The engine of transformative capital
Learn the fundamentals of private equity, including how funds are structured, common investment strategies, and the operational mechanics of value creation and fund administration.
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Investors
Date: September 2024
Article: How to start a private equity firm
Learn how to start a private equity firm—from defining your investment strategy to raising capital and conducting a first close.
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Private Funds
Date: February 2026
Article: Understanding private investment funds: An inside look
Private investment funds are the backbone of the private markets. Learn the basics of private funds, including how they’re structured, managed, and regulated.
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Investors
Date: September 2024
Article: Private equity fund structures
Understand the most common entity structure for private equity firms and their funds—the limited partnership—including key legal and tax implications of this type of PE fund structure.
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Ownership Trends in Private Equity

Authors: Kevin Dowd & Ashley Neville
Date: November 2024
Featured article: SPV Spotlight: Private Equity Edition 2024
The number of special-purpose vehicles has grown in recent years, and the size of SPVs is growing—a sign of their growing appeal among private equity and venture capital firms.
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Data & Research
Date: September 2024
Article: Ownership trends in private equity: 2024
Our second annual Ownership Trends in Private Equity report provides a status update on the progress private equity has made toward the commitment to expand employee ownership.
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Virtual Event
Date: September 2024
Article: Insights from the 2024 Private Equity Ownership Trends Report
Join Peter Walker and Hamza Shad, who lead Carta’s Data Insights Team, Dana Zhang, PE business development manager at Carta, and Shiv Narayanan, host of the “Private Equity Value Creation Podcast,” for a deep dive into value creation through employee equity.
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Issue Briefs
Date: March 2024
Article: Building the ownership economy: Issue brief
Employee ownership should be a standard part of employee compensation and business strategy across sectors and industries.
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Waterfall Modeling

Waterfall Modeling: A Complete Guide
What is a waterfall analysis?
Waterfall Modeling Glossary

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Customer Stories

How Kayne Anderson uses Carta to manage its private equity portfolio
Relativity chose Carta's LLC platform to help manage its equity program
How Base10 turns fund admin into a strategic advantage with Carta
How Carta makes phantom equity simple for Athena LLC

Equity Deep Dives

Author: The Carta Team
Date: September 2024
Featured article: Rollover equity
Learn how rollover equity works during PE M&A deals, including advantages, disadvantages, and tax treatment for buyers and sellers.
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Equity Compensation
Date: November 2025
Article: Profits interest
Profits interest can give LLC members a share of future growth with tax-free grants and long-term capital gains treatment. Learn how to set up and manage them.
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Equity Management
Date: November 2025
Article: Phantom equity
Learn how phantom equity plans incentivize and retain key employees without diluting ownership. This guide covers mechanics, tax implications, and crucial risks for private companies considering implementation.
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Compensation
Date: February 2020
Article: Private equity vs. public equity
Job offers often include base salary, bonuses, stipends, and shares. Here's how to value a compensation package including private equity or public equity.
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