According to different investment objects, investment funds are usually divided into two categories: securities investment funds and equity investment funds: securities investment funds invest in publicly traded securities; Equity investment funds invest in non-publicly traded equity. China's current social "private funds" mostly refer to securities investment funds. Private equity investment fund refers to a kind of collective investment method that collects the funds of many investors through the sale of fund shares to form independent property, which is managed by fund custodians and fund managers and shares the benefits and risks of securities investment in a combined way.

There are three main differences between private equity investment funds and private equity investment funds:

(1) The fundamental attribute of private equity investment projects is high risk and high return, which is obviously different from private equity investment funds with relatively low risk and return.

The risks and benefits of private equity funds are higher than those of private equity funds. Fundamentally speaking, this is because there are differences in risk-taking ability and expected returns between institutions or individuals investing in private equity funds and private equity funds.

Therefore, the source of funds for private equity funds is mainly institutional investors rather than small and medium-sized retail investors. Small and medium-sized retail investors don't know enough about private equity investment to take this risk. Generally do not invest in private equity funds. Similarly, private equity funds are usually not listed, and the risks cannot be borne by small and medium investors in the market. Many sources of private equity funds are institutional investors with long-term funds, such as insurance companies, pension funds, family or charitable funds.

(2) Investment objects and asset portfolios are different.

Existing private equity investment funds generally invest in stocks and other highly liquid securities, but there are also a few real estate and industrial projects; Private equity fund is a science and technology project space and growth enterprise that invests in a certain industry, and quickly disperses Tengda risk by investing in projects in different stages and industries.

The investment object of private equity fund can be both "equity" and "stock". Just investing in stocks can make private equity funds get higher than average returns. It is a misunderstanding that only private equity funds invest in stocks and private equity funds do not invest in stocks.

(3) The investment period and the realization method are different.

Private equity investment funds are usually short-term investments, with strong speculation and varied portfolios, mainly arbitrage from the fluctuations of the securities market; Private equity funds have a long investment cycle and can only get returns from the development and growth of investment projects. Chapter II Private Equity Fund and Its Development Status in China Section II International Comparison of Private Equity Fund Development I. Development of American Private Equity Fund The activities of American private equity funds can be traced back to the end of19th century. At that time, many wealthy private bankers directly invested their funds in high-risk emerging industries such as oil, steel and railways through the introduction and arrangement of lawyers and accountants. This kind of investment is entirely decided by the investors themselves, and there is no special organization to organize it.