← All Insights

PE Gets Creative

Updated 1 July 2025

Over $1.8T in PE portfolio assets have aged past traditional hold periods. Sponsors are turning to carve-outs, CV² structures, and AI to create liquidity and value in a constrained environment.
SE
Scott EnglerAveran · 2025-07-01

Over $1.8 trillion in PE portfolio assets have aged past traditional hold periods, with exit activity running at roughly $600B per year. The math doesn't work. Sponsors are responding with structural creativity, and the CFO is at the center of every structure.

The main themes

Carve-Outs as the Playbook (S&P Global)

Carve-outs are now deliberate value creation levers, not fallbacks; $20B+ in Q2 deal value; require immediate CFO execution from Day 1. The CFO who can stand up a standalone finance function under pressure is the rarest talent in the market.

AI Expectation vs. Execution Gap (Accordion)

98% of PE sponsors expect aggressive AI implementation in their portfolio companies; 68% of portfolio CFOs lack clarity on where to begin. The gap between sponsorship intent and operating execution is the defining problem of 2025.

CV² Liquidity Structures (FT)

Continuation vehicles evolving to sell to multiple secondaries while retaining exposure; CFOs must manage the valuation complexity, audit requirements, and LP trust dynamics simultaneously.

Apollo AI Blueprint (MIT Sloan)

Apollo maps AI to value pools across portfolio operations; case studies show 5x ROI, 20%+ productivity gains, 65%+ procurement savings. The sponsor that builds AI capability at the portfolio level has a structural advantage.

Four Pillars of Agentic AI (McKinsey)

People, Technology, Data, Governance. The CEO must own the transformation, not delegate it. Rebuilding the operating model around AI agents is a leadership decision, not a technology decision.

Scott's TakeThe CFO sitting inside a CV or carve-out today is doing the hardest job in private equity. They're building the financial infrastructure of a company that didn't exist yesterday, under LP scrutiny, while managing an active value creation plan. The firms that have that CFO ready are winning.
LiquidityCarve-OutsAIContinuation Vehicles

Also worth reading

If you want this done for you

What happens next

Reading about it and having it done are different things. Here is exactly what happens if you want the second one.

  1. The call, twenty minutesYou describe the business and where the numbers are letting you down. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and what we would start with. No pitch deck.
  2. We look at the fileYou give us read access to the books as they are. We come back with what is wrong, what it will take to fix, and whether the answer is bookkeeping, controller work, or something else.
  3. A written scope and a priceWhat we do each month, what you get, the date it lands, and the fee. Agreed before anything starts, and it does not move without you agreeing it.
  4. Transition, then the first closeAccess, systems, and the opening balances. The first close lands on the date in the scope, and every one after it does too.
Start with the call →How an engagement runs

Averan is not a CPA firm and does not file taxes. Your CPA keeps that, and we keep the books they file from.

Related pages

GovCon Fractional CFO Sync-Align™ GovCon CFO Diagnostic Connect with an Expert

Questions we get asked

What distinguishes high-performing CFOs in PE-backed companies?

High-performing CFOs in PE-backed companies are distinguished by three capabilities. The ability to build a single trusted fact base that CEO, CFO, and sponsor all operate from. The ability to translate financial complexity into a board narrative that drives decisions. And the ability to anticipate events (capital raises, compliance crises, leadership gaps) before they become reactive situations.

How should a PE-backed company prepare its finance function for a hold period?

In the first 90 days of a hold period, the finance function should establish a clean close cadence, build a reporting package that meets board and sponsor expectations, identify the key financial risks in the investment thesis. Assess whether the current team has the capability to carry the value creation agenda through to exit. Gaps identified early are fixable. Gaps identified at exit are expensive.