**Preqin Excel Add-In Guide**

**Intro**
You have full access to Preqin through the Excel Add-In ("Preqin for Excel"), but you should only pull Preqin data **when the user explicitly tells you to**. Preqin provides comprehensive alternative assets data including private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, private debt, natural resources, and hedge funds. You can retrieve fund performance, fundraising, deals, investors, and benchmarks through the Excel integration.

**IMPORTANT:** Before completing a task involving Preqin, you must verify:
1. Your Preqin formulas/queries do not return errors.
2. All values should seem reasonable and make intuitive sense based on your knowledge of private markets.
3. Use cell references for identifiers when possible as opposed to hardcoded values.

You should essentially gut check every value that shows up. If there are any errors or the values seem wrong, you likely configured the query incorrectly. Please correct until it outputs the proper value.

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**Preqin Data Coverage**

Preqin provides data across alternative asset classes:

| Asset Class | Coverage |
|-------------|----------|
| Private Equity | Buyout, Growth, Turnaround |
| Venture Capital | Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed |
| Real Estate | Core, Value-Add, Opportunistic |
| Infrastructure | Energy, Transport, Utilities |
| Private Debt | Direct Lending, Mezzanine, Distressed |
| Natural Resources | Energy, Mining, Timber, Agriculture |
| Hedge Funds | Various strategies |

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**1. Data Categories**

**Funds:**
Fund profiles, performance, cash flows, benchmarks

**Fundraising:**
Funds in market, fund closings, capital raised

**Deals:**
Buyout, VC, real estate, infrastructure transactions

**Investors:**
LPs, allocations, commitments, preferences

**Fund Managers:**
GP profiles, track records, AUM

**Benchmarks:**
Vintage year, strategy, geography benchmarks

---

**2. Fund Performance Metrics**

**Return Metrics:**
| Metric | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| Net IRR | Net internal rate of return to LPs |
| Gross IRR | Gross IRR before fees |
| Net IRR Since Inception | IRR from fund inception |
| PME | Public market equivalent |
| Direct Alpha | Alpha vs public market |
| KS-PME | Kaplan-Schoar PME |

**Multiple Metrics:**
| Metric | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| TVPI | Total Value to Paid-In (investment multiple) |
| DPI | Distributions to Paid-In (realized multiple) |
| RVPI | Residual Value to Paid-In (unrealized multiple) |
| Gross Multiple | Gross investment multiple |
| Net Multiple | Net multiple to LPs |

**Quartile Rankings:**
| Metric | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| IRR Quartile | 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th quartile |
| Multiple Quartile | TVPI quartile ranking |
| Quartile Rank | Percentile ranking |

---

**3. Fund Profile Data**

**Fund Identification:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| FundID | Preqin fund identifier |
| FundName | Legal fund name |
| FirmName | GP/manager name |
| FirmID | Preqin firm identifier |
| Vintage | Vintage year |
| FundStatus | Open, Closed, Liquidated |
| Currency | Fund currency |

**Fund Characteristics:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| FundSize | Target/final fund size |
| FundSizeUSD | Fund size in USD |
| Strategy | Investment strategy |
| SubStrategy | Sub-strategy |
| Geography | Target geography |
| GeographicFocus | Regional focus |
| Industry | Industry focus |
| FundType | Primary, Secondary, Fund of Funds |
| FundStructure | Limited Partnership, etc. |

**Fund Timeline:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| FirstClose | First close date |
| FinalClose | Final close date |
| InvestmentPeriod | Investment period (years) |
| FundTerm | Fund term (years) |
| ExtensionOptions | Extension provisions |

---

**4. Cash Flow Data**

Preqin provides fund-level cash flow transactions:

**Cash Flow Types:**
| Type | Description |
|------|-------------|
| Capital Call | Contributions from LPs |
| Distribution | Cash distributed to LPs |
| Valuation | NAV/residual value |
| Recallable | Recallable distributions |

**Cash Flow Fields:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| TransactionDate | Date of cash flow |
| TransactionType | Call, Distribution, Valuation |
| Amount | Transaction amount |
| AmountUSD | Amount in USD |
| CumulativeContributions | Total contributions to date |
| CumulativeDistributions | Total distributions to date |
| NAV | Net asset value |

---

**5. Fundraising Data**

**Funds in Market:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| FundName | Fund name |
| TargetSize | Target fundraise |
| CurrentSize | Amount raised to date |
| LaunchDate | Fund launch date |
| ExpectedClose | Expected final close |
| FundrasingStatus | In Market, Closed, etc. |

**Capital Raised:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| QuarterlyCapitalRaised | Capital raised by quarter |
| AnnualCapitalRaised | Capital raised by year |
| NumberOfFundsClosed | Count of fund closings |
| AverageSize | Average fund size |

---

**6. Deal/Transaction Data**

**Deal Profile:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| DealID | Preqin deal identifier |
| CompanyName | Portfolio company |
| DealDate | Transaction date |
| DealType | Buyout, Growth, VC, Add-on |
| DealStatus | Completed, Pending, Exited |

**Deal Financials:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| DealSize | Transaction value |
| EnterpriseValue | EV at entry |
| EquityValue | Equity investment |
| DebtAmount | Debt financing |
| EVRevenue | EV/Revenue multiple |
| EVEBITDA | EV/EBITDA multiple |

**Exit Data:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| ExitDate | Exit date |
| ExitType | Trade Sale, IPO, Secondary |
| ExitValue | Exit enterprise value |
| MOIC | Multiple on invested capital |
| ExitIRR | IRR at exit |
| HoldingPeriod | Years held |

---

**7. Investor (LP) Data**

**Investor Profile:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| InvestorID | Preqin investor identifier |
| InvestorName | LP name |
| InvestorType | Pension, Endowment, etc. |
| Location | Headquarters location |
| AUM | Total assets under management |
| AlternativesAUM | Alternatives allocation |

**Investor Types:**
| Type | Description |
|------|-------------|
| Public Pension | State/local pensions |
| Corporate Pension | Corporate pension plans |
| Endowment | University endowments |
| Foundation | Private foundations |
| Sovereign Wealth | SWFs |
| Insurance | Insurance companies |
| Family Office | Family offices |
| Fund of Funds | Fund of funds managers |
| Asset Manager | Asset management firms |

**Allocation Data:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| CurrentAllocation | Current % to alternatives |
| TargetAllocation | Target % to alternatives |
| AllocationByStrategy | Breakdown by PE, VC, RE, etc. |
| CommitmentsPastYear | Commitments in past 12M |
| AverageCommitmentSize | Average commitment |

**Investment Preferences:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| PreferredStrategies | Target strategies |
| PreferredGeographies | Target regions |
| PreferredFundSizes | Fund size preferences |
| PreferredVintages | Vintage preferences |
| DirectInvesting | Direct/co-invest interest |

---

**8. Fund Manager (GP) Data**

**Manager Profile:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| FirmID | Preqin firm identifier |
| FirmName | GP name |
| Headquarters | HQ location |
| YearFounded | Year established |
| AUM | Assets under management |
| DryPowder | Uninvested capital |

**Track Record:**
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| NumberOfFunds | Total funds managed |
| TotalCapitalRaised | Lifetime capital raised |
| AverageIRR | Average net IRR |
| AverageMultiple | Average TVPI |
| TopQuartileFunds | % funds in top quartile |

---

**9. Benchmark Data**

**Benchmark Types:**
| Type | Description |
|------|-------------|
| Vintage Year | By fund vintage year |
| Strategy | By investment strategy |
| Geography | By target region |
| Size | By fund size bucket |

**Benchmark Metrics:**
| Metric | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| MedianIRR | Median net IRR |
| MedianTVPI | Median TVPI |
| UpperQuartileIRR | 75th percentile IRR |
| LowerQuartileIRR | 25th percentile IRR |
| TopDecileIRR | 90th percentile IRR |
| PMEMedian | Median PME vs S&P 500 |

**Custom Benchmarks:**
Preqin Pro allows creation of custom benchmarks based on:
- Strategy combinations
- Geographic filters
- Size ranges
- Vintage year ranges

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**10. Strategies**

**Private Equity:**
| Strategy | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| Buyout | Leveraged buyouts |
| Growth | Growth equity |
| Turnaround | Distressed/turnaround |
| Secondaries | Secondary transactions |
| Co-Investment | Direct co-investments |
| Fund of Funds | PE fund of funds |

**Venture Capital:**
| Strategy | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| Seed | Seed stage |
| Early Stage | Series A/B |
| Late Stage | Series C+ |
| Balanced | Multi-stage |

**Private Debt:**
| Strategy | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| Direct Lending | Senior debt |
| Mezzanine | Junior debt |
| Distressed Debt | Distressed opportunities |
| Special Situations | Special situations |
| Venture Debt | Venture lending |

**Real Estate:**
| Strategy | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| Core | Core/stable assets |
| Core-Plus | Core-plus |
| Value Add | Value-add |
| Opportunistic | Opportunistic |
| Debt | Real estate debt |

**Infrastructure:**
| Strategy | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| Brownfield | Existing assets |
| Greenfield | Development |
| Core | Core infrastructure |
| Core-Plus | Core-plus infra |
| Value Add | Value-add infra |

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**11. Using Preqin for Excel**

**Data Retrieval Methods:**

1. **Query Builder:**
   - Access via Preqin tab in Excel
   - Select data category (Funds, Deals, Investors, etc.)
   - Apply filters (strategy, geography, vintage, etc.)
   - Select fields to retrieve
   - Insert data into spreadsheet

2. **Saved Searches:**
   - Create and save searches in Preqin Pro web
   - Pull saved searches into Excel
   - Refresh data with one click

3. **Data Export:**
   - Export datasets from Preqin Pro
   - Import into Excel for analysis

**Common Workflows:**
- Pull benchmark data for fund comparison
- Retrieve LP commitments for fundraising targeting
- Export deal comps for valuation analysis
- Download cash flows for portfolio modeling

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**12. Example Queries**

**Fund Performance:**
- All PE buyout funds vintage 2015-2020
- Funds with IRR > 15% and TVPI > 1.5x
- Top quartile funds by geography

**Fundraising:**
- Funds currently in market by strategy
- Capital raised by quarter/year
- Average fund sizes by vintage

**Deals:**
- Recent buyout transactions > $500M
- Add-on acquisitions by platform company
- Exit transactions with MOIC > 2x

**Investors:**
- Public pensions with > $1B in PE
- LPs that committed to funds in 2023
- Investors by strategy preference

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**13. Data Export Limits**

Preqin may have export limits based on subscription tier:
- Check with your Preqin representative for specific limits
- Use saved searches to organize large data pulls
- Export in batches if necessary

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**Final Checklist:**
- What data category am I querying? (Funds, Deals, Investors, GPs?)
- What filters do I need? (Strategy, geography, vintage, size?)
- What specific fields do I want to retrieve?
- Is this for benchmarking, targeting, or analysis?
- Have I verified the data using Preqin Pro web first?
- Am I within data export limits?

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**Additional Resources:**
- Preqin Pro: preqin.com/our-products/preqin-pro
- Preqin for Excel: preqin.com/our-products/preqin-for-excel
- Help Center: preqin.com/help-center
- Data Guides: docs.preqin.com
- Academy: preqin.com/academy
