Communications in a crisis

How do you communicate your assessment of a situation whose every constituent aspect is rapidly changing? Alex Lynn reports that it’s basically impossible. GPs’ communications with their LPs are changing so fast that they’re out of date almost the minute they’re on paper (or email).

Some GPs are being sure to make it clear that all communications with LPs represent the firm’s best knowledge at the time the communication is sent. One managing partner tells Alex that her firm will disclose portfolio company financials in its fourth quarter report. (Others are considering issuing assessments of the pandemic on individual portfolio companies in their fourth quarter reports, I’m told). And even if you’re fourth quarter report leaves its 12/31 valuations as they are, with a risk or subsequent event footnote, what you put in that will depend on when you write it. One CFO says things are changing so quickly that a footnote written in late March would probably be totally different than the one that will actually be issued in late April, when the report is issued.

Email prepared by Graham Bippart