The good, the bad and the ugly

Firm Navigation Design Team presentation Portfolio presentation Ease of contact News presentation Verdict The Carlyle Group good good good good good good Carlyle's web site is the gold standard of transparency and organization. On it, the firm, once criticized as ?secretive,? presents nearly its entire history of investing and fundraising, and shows how the outposts of its sprawling empire join together. Most public corporations aren't nearly as forthcoming. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Neutral Neutral Neutral good Neutral good KKR's web site is remarkably detailed for a firm that could get away with merely posting its logo and phone number. A visitor can learn a great deal about KKR's history and heft in the market?but nothing about who works there. Goldman Sachs Principal Investments Neutral Neutral Bad Bad Neutral Bad Goldman Sachs has repeatedly demonstrated that the firm can pretty much do what it wants. For its web site, it hasn't done very much at all, although one can fnd good detail on private equity and mezzanine funds raised. The Blackstone Group Neutral Neutral good good good good Blackstone has done a good job at fltering a vast amount of information about itself and presenting it to its best advantage, especially data concering its investments. The look and feel of the site deserve an upgrade commensurate with Blackstone's image as the king of Wall Street. TPG Neutral Neutral Bad Bad Bad Neutral From its web site, one can deduce that TPG is involved in some sort of investment activity. The news page offers some detail, but the sparse, vague language would impress the CIA. Permira good good good good good good Permira head Damon Buffni was the frst to speak out for the private equity industry in the UK. The web site is a fne example of why the firm is a success?intelligent, easy to navigate, easy on the eyes and transparent. Apax Partners Bad Neutral Neutral good good good Apax delivers a great amount of detail about its global investment program?if you can fnd it. The site's navigation system is the opposite of intuitive, and frst-time visitors don't immediately get a sense of what the firm does, other than quite a lot of different things. Bain Capital good Bad good good Neutral Neutral Quite easy to navigate despite their multiple divisions, with a wealth of information on their professionals and investments. The design however, looks like a jigsaw puzzle no one wants to solve. Providence Equity Partners Neutral Bad good Neutral Bad Bad Providence Equity, which recently raised a $12 billion fund for communications and media investments, has among the least communicative and presentable web sites in the industry. CVC Capital Partners good good good good good good A visitor easily glides through CVC's web site and is impressed with the firm's history of success, global reach and team. One gets the sense that this is a firm that must be taken very seriously. Cinven good good good good good good The design is elegant with an agile navigation process connecting professionals and deals. The site is a terrifc lesson in offering rich, easy to digest data. Apollo Management Na Na Na Na Na Na Will the real Apollo please step forward? A Google search for the firm produces a firm called Apollo Investment Corporation, and Apollo Management's Wikipedia entry. 3i Group Neutral Neutral good Neutral good good There is such a thing as giving a web visitor too many options, and 3i has erred on this side. While the publicly traded firm can't be faulted for allowing browsers to isolate all of its, say, former Swiss healthcare investments, the advanced functionality seems cumbersome. Warburg Pincus good Neutral good Neutral good good On this site clarity trumps groundbreaking visuals. The result?simple, easy to read, and with plenty of detail?should be appreciated. Terra Firma Capital Partners good Neutral good Neutral good Neutral Like its name, Terra Firma's web site is solid, straightforward, functional?and green. Hellman & Friedman good good good good Neutral good The firm that made a killing on DoubleClick knows good online marketing. This lightning quick site allows visitors to get what they need, and also presents the opportunity for serendipitous learning along the way. General Atlantic Bad Bad good good good good The kitchen sink approach to web site design. Hard to navigate, but if one needs a partner's shoe size, it's probably here. CCMP Capital good good good good Neutral good A very well-designed and thought-out web site, with chock full of information about its team and investments. But the site has an annoying lack of contact information. Silver Lake Partners good Neutral good good good good A reminder that web sites are not just designed, but written. The language is sharp and lucid with a minimum of business clichés. We're grateful for any site that doesn't mention ?adding value? on every other page. Teacher's Private Capital Neutral Neutral Bad Bad Bad Bad A visitor would have to dig around in the bucket called Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for information about its private equity activities. No apple for this firm's web designer.