Last evening, nextMontreal featured a post about an unusual upcoming boxing match that will see an LP and a GP of a Venture Capital Fund go at it, in the ring!

These Knockout Entrepreneurs! are Jacques Bernier of Teralys Capital and François-Charles Sirois of Telesystem. Sounds crazy to hear that two major players in the Canadian Entrepreneurial and investment community are going at it, with gloves? Well at least, it’s for a good cause.  It’s an “Invitation-Only Event” and all proceeds from the event will support both St-Justine and the Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy of Hôpital Mainsonneuve-Rosemont.

It should be a memorable match.

Here is an excerpt of the blog post by Chris Arsenault on the nextMontreal web site October 28th, 2010.

Canadian GP & LP put-on the Gloves for a great cause on Nov. 18th

Do you remember the last time you got into a heated argument that culminated with your adversary laying down the proverbial gauntlet by issuing those infamous three words – “I dare you!”? Then, without even a shadow of a doubt and before you can even comprehend the seriousness of the situation, you responded with a testosterone-tinged “Sure, I’ll do it – name the time and place!” More often than not, the consequences of such actions end up being more than you wished for.

Now, to be honest, I’ve given more than my share of cocky replies over the last 20 years in the business. That being said, I can also say none of my “quick replies” ever landed me in a prize-fighting ring versus a trained boxer who also happens to be Canada’s largest VC and PE fund investor!

Yes, ladies and gentleman; Jacques Bernier, Managing Partner at Teralys Capital, has dared the VC community to face him in the ring. He is wants to go at it, one-on-one and show what it what he’s made up of.

Personally, stepping into a ring is already something I consider a little crazy. Furthermore, to go out and face one of my future potential investors in a boxing ring is almost suicidal. It’s definitely a lose-lose proposition…Or is it?

François-Charles Sirois, a dynamic young entrepreneur (and also President of Telesystem – one of Canada’s most active entrepreneurial investor through its numerous funds), heard the calling in October 2009. When Jacques threw out his “I dare you” in a friendly meeting, François-Charles rapidly evaluated the odds of winning or losing, the time he needed to train, the muscle-mass he needed to gain to face Jacques, identified Jacques’ main weaknesses, calculated the difference in age and speed, and rapidly (because all of this happened within a micro-second) answered back: “Sure, I’ll fight you. Give me a year to prepare. Oh, and by the way, I care tremendously for a specific foundation that gives support for kids and want to give 100% of my winnings to the Fondation Sainte-Justine.” “My winnings” – talk about a bold statement! Jacques quickly replied: “Perfect – but to be clear, my winnings will go to the Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy of Hôpital Mainsonneuve-Rosemont, which is a cause close to my heart”.

Definitely, François-Charles is walking into this adventure with but one objective in mind – to win! While Jacques already knows he has won!

Please checkout the nextMontreal web site for the full article (clik here)

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After a long consultative process with ILPA members and other industry constituents, the ILPA has released a best practices document that outlines a set of guidelines regarding partnership governance, alignment of interest between GPs and LPs and reporting & transparency.

To endorse the Principles, please click here Please include your name, as well as the organization you are endorsing on behalf of in your e-mail.  To view the Principles, click here

Below you will find the official press release issued today by the ILPA and supported by the CVCA.

The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) releases the ILPA Private Equity Principles

Guidelines intend to create framework for sustainability and growth of asset class through improved governance, alignment of interests and transparency

TORONTO, ONTARIO – The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) today introduced the ILPA Private Equity Principles, which establishes a set of principles and best practices for the private equity industry with the goal of strengthening the long-term viability of the asset class as an institutional investment strategy. Through enhanced partnership governance, strong alignment of interests and improved investor reporting and transparency, the ILPA believes the limited partner and general partner communities as well as other industry practitioners will mutually benefit from an improved set of guidelines that reaffirm a focus on investment value creation. This approach has historically served as the key tenet to the success of the asset class.

“Private equity has become an important strategy for most institutional investors from around the world as overall returns from private equity have outpaced those of other asset classes over the long run,” said Joncarlo Mark, Chairman of the ILPA. “This is primarily the result of a traditionally strong alignment between general partners and their portfolio companies and a focus on growing these businesses. A similar alignment between the general partners and the supporting institutions that provide them investment capital will help ensure successful returns in the future.”

The ILPA Private Equity Principles were developed through broad communication and coordination between a wide cross section of private equity investment institutions. This process included input from many of ILPA’s 215 member organizations from around the world, which provided feedback through roundtable discussions and a comprehensive survey that ultimately generated the concepts proposed in this document.

“The ILPA’s mission is to provide networking, communication and ongoing research and education – including the development of best practices – that will help our members and other industry participants improve their investment capabilities and performance,” said Kathy Jeramaz-Larson, Executive Director of the ILPA. “The ILPA Private Equity Principles will establish an operating framework for investors to engage in ongoing dialogue and to develop improvements that will benefit the industry for years to come.” In conjunction with the release of this document, ILPA has formed a new Best Practices Committee that will focus on continuing to strengthen private equity as an asset class by soliciting input from other private equity practitioners and by utilizing the Private Equity Principles as a living document to incorporate changes as warranted in the future.

In addition, ILPA encourages and welcomes the formal endorsement of the ILPA Private Equity Principles from both members and non-members, including general partners, fund-of-funds and industry consultants. The ILPA Private Equity Principles are posted on the ILPA website at www.ilpa.org. A list of institutions that wish to be formally recognized as signatories to the Private Equity Principles will also be posted and updated on a regular basis.

The Institutional Limited Partners Association is a not-for-profit association committed to serving limited partner investors in the global private equity industry by providing a forum for facilitating value-added communication, enhancing education in the asset class and promoting research and standards in the private equity industry. ILPA has over 215 institutional member organizations that collectively manage approximately $1 trillion of private equity assets. For a copy of the ILPA Private Equity Principles or for more information about ILPA, please visit www.ilpa.org.

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