The private equity landscape is changing, but investors are far from sure they like the way it looks. The emergence of multi-billion euro 'super-funds' has altered the dynamics of the business, upsetting the old balance of power, opportunity and incentives.

Investors, many of them investing in private equity for the first time, have fuelled the rise of the super-funds. But some of them are worried. David Swensen, chief investment officer of the $11bn (&euro11.7bn) Yale Endowment, told delegates at the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association's investment conference this March: 'If there is anything I'd like to see in the private equity industry, it would be to turn the clock back 10 or 15 years and deal with funds of a size that was common at that time.'