Ludovic PhalippouAcademic

Biography

Ludovic Phalippou is Professor of Financial Economics at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and a Fellow in Finance at The Queen's College, Oxford. He specialises in private market investments, with a focus on fee tracking, interest alignment, and return benchmarking, and is the author of the book 'Private Equity Laid Bare'. His 2020 analysis found that private equity funds had performed no better on average than basic US stock market tracker funds since 2006, work widely cited in UK health and care policy debates. In UK press coverage of health and social care, he has argued that where society cannot tolerate a hospital, care provider or children's services operator failing, stricter rules on debt levels and ownership structures are warranted. He has testified as an expert witness to parliamentary committees in the UK and France, and was awarded the 2026 James R. Vertin Award by the CFA Institute Research Foundation.

References

1. 1.Ludovic Phalippou – Oxford Saïd Business School staff page — Confirms role, title, research specialisms, Jack Treynor Prize, and recognition as one of 40 outstanding business school professors under 40
2. 2.Ludovic Phalippou Awarded 2026 James R. Vertin Award – BusinessWire — Confirms 2026 Vertin Award, expert witness testimony to UK and French parliamentary committees, and collaboration with institutional investors and public bodies
3. 3.Billions in UK public funds are going to dodgy private equity firms – The Canary — Documents Phalippou being quoted in the Guardian on private equity risks to hospitals, care providers and children's services, establishing his role as a named voice in UK health and social care press coverage
4. 4.Private equity investing in UK healthcare – The Lowdown — Cites Phalippou's 2020 research on private equity fund performance relative to public markets, and its application to NHS and social care policy debates

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Adult social care & reform

Stated areas of expertise

• Private equity in public services
• Provider financial risk and debt structures
• Care sector ownership and governance
• Return benchmarking and fee transparency
• Institutional investor oversight

Notable achievements

• Awarded the 2026 James R. Vertin Award by the CFA Institute Research Foundation for advancing private markets research Source ↗
• Paper 'How alternative are private markets?' named a 2018 recipient of the Q-Group Jack Treynor Prize Source ↗
• Named one of the 20 most influential individuals in private equity in Europe (RealDeals magazine, 2016) Source ↗
• Invited to testify as expert witness to parliamentary committees in the UK and France Source ↗
• 2020 analysis of private equity fund performance widely cited in UK health and NHS privatisation debates Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The core risk is not just 'private equity'. It is for-profit provision, plus high leverage, in an essential service where the state has little room to walk away, and probably low competence in writing contracts and negotiating prices.”

  Professor of financial economics at the University of Oxford's Saïd business school · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity ↗

• “The question is less 'should private equity be regulated?' and more 'should providers of essential services face additional safeguards?'. If society would not tolerate a hospital, care provider or children's services operator suddenly failing, then we may want stricter rules around debt levels, ownership structures and contingency plans for financial distress.”

  professor of financial economics at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Nurseries, vets and shops: the sectors where private equity plays a big role ↗

Source references

1. ‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equitytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Nurseries, vets and shops: the sectors where private equity plays a big roletheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/ludovic-phalippou
• Staff pagehttps://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/people/prof-ludovic-phalippou/
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/ludovic-phalippou-5488b147

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.