Quora Answer: How Do I See a List of Startups a Private Equity Fund Has Invested In?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How do I see a list of startups that a private equity fund funds?” 

A private equity fund is private for a reason.  They are forms of collective investment schemes managed by a firm, a limited liability partnership, or through a trust structure.  They solicit funds from their own investor network, and these are all accredited investors.  Private equity funds issue reports to their investors on a quarterly or half yearly basis, detailing their holdings.  Some of them put extracts of these reports online.  They are not obliged to release details of their holdings to the general public.