Private Outlook, developed jointly by Northern Trust and Sand Hill Econometrics, uses data from 1,500 partnerships over 15 years to generate a picture of capital calls and distributions in private equity programs.

It is hoped the service will help investors in anticipate short and medium term cash flow requirements, improving their ability to manage liquidity.

"With Private Outlook, investors can trade in their spreadsheets for a flexible tool that combines their portfolio information with historical data on private markets and the economic outlook to model a range of scenarios. Clients can model the behaviour of individual portfolios and entire private equity programs, including the likely impact of prospective investments, to estimate cash needs and avoid liquidity surprises,” said Paul Finlayson, private equity product manager for Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust.

The service uses two models: one-year and five-year. Its one-year model estimates capital calls by integrating portfolio data and historic takedown patterns. The five-year model projects capital call, distribution, and future valuations based on private equity trends.  

Founded in 2001, Sand Hill Econometrics is based in Palo Alto, California and is a provider of data, research and modelling tools focused on alternative assets.