INDUSTRY GUIDELINES
BVK Professional Standards
The BVK has industry guidelines that govern the relationship between the three key groups in the private equity sector – private equity firms, institutional investors and financed companies – as well as with outside third parties. All BVK members are required to adhere to these Professional Standards in their activities with companies, investors and third parties. These industry guidelines are internationally recognised. They were developed in collaboration with investors and portfolio companies and are now established as the European standard.
The BVK Professional Standards consist of the BVK Code of Conduct and the recognised guidelines specified by Invest Europe in the “2018 Handbook of Professional Standards”: Investor Reporting Guidelines and the IPEV International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines.
The BVK Code of Conduct was introduced in order to establish the highest ethical standards in the German private equity sector. When applying to become a member of the BVK, every private equity firm makes a commitment to adhere to the Code of Conduct. By becoming members of the BVK, private equity firms and their employees thus take responsibility for acting in a way that is ethically correct and will have a positive impact on the reputation and interests of the sector and those in it.
The BVK recognises and adopts the industry guidelines specified in the “2018 Handbook of Professional Standards” by Invest Europe and those of the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Board (IPEV) as the authoritative guidelines for activities by German private equity firms and recommends that members follow these internationally accepted industry guidelines. Particularly when working with international investors and companies, these are the globally required and accepted standard for private equity firms.