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The course: 19 modules in four phases, read at your own pace. Each opens here with what it covers and its first section; the full modules open with the investor workspace.
Start with the Playbook
The free guide: the Canadian regulatory framework, the asset classes, and how managers are evaluated.
Request the Playbook →The course
Where private markets sit next to public ones, how Canada's large pension plans hold them, the accredited investor definition and the Canadian market.
- 01Public Markets: Concentration and Correlation6 min
How the S&P/TSX is concentrated by sector, how stocks and bonds moved together in 2020 and 2022, the 60/40 portfolio, and the shrinking listed market.
- 02How Canada's Large Pension Plans Allocate7 min
What CPP Investments, OTPP and CDPQ hold in private assets, the reasons given for it, and how institutional and individual portfolios differ.
- 03The Accredited Investor Definition8 min
Where the accredited investor definition sits in NI 45-106, its income and asset paragraphs quoted, why it exists, other exemptions, and the risks it leaves.
- 04The Canadian Private Markets Landscape5 min
Structural features of Canadian private markets (size, competition, mid-market succession, home currency) and conditions as at early 2026, dated.
Private equity, private credit, real estate and venture capital, then the four compared.
- 05Private Equity Fundamentals10 min
Buyout, growth equity and venture strategies; how leverage works; IRR and MOIC; capital calls, the J-curve and the spread between managers.
- 06Private Credit and Mortgage Investment Corporations8 min
Direct lending, mezzanine, MICs and specialty finance; the capital stack; loan-to-value and underwriting; credit, concentration, liquidity and rate risk.
- 07Private Real Estate8 min
Private real estate versus listed REITs; how a GP/LP syndication works; core, value-add and opportunistic strategies; leverage, sponsors and projections.
- 08Venture Capital6 min
Early-stage equity; the power-law distribution of outcomes; fund versus direct investing; the spread between managers; realized versus unrealized returns.
- 09Comparing the Asset Classes4 min
Private equity, private credit, real estate and venture capital compared: risk, horizon, income or growth, minimums, and questions.
How private investments are distributed, assessing a manager, fund structure, reading an offering memorandum, due diligence and red flags.
- 10How Private Investments Are Distributed8 min
Four channels for private investments in Canada: direct commitments, funds of funds, exempt market dealers and online platforms, with costs and conflicts.
- 11Evaluating a Manager8 min
How a private fund manager is assessed: track record in context, IRR and MOIC, team continuity, key-person risk, GP commitment, hurdle, clawback, conflicts.
- 12Fund Structure and the Partnership Agreement9 min
How a limited partnership agreement sets a fund's term, capital calls, waterfall, governance, reporting and transfer limits, with worked examples.
- 19Reading an Offering Memorandum12 min
A framework for reading an offering memorandum under NI 45-106: the required form, what each section discloses, purchasers' rights and questions to ask.
- 13The Due Diligence Checklist6 min
Five areas diligence verifies before a commitment: audited financials, legal structure, track record and references, fees, and liquidity and redemption terms.
- 14Red Flags and Reasons to Walk Away6 min
Six patterns diligence treats as warning signs, from returns that do not fit their risk to missing service providers; how they combine; what declining involves.
How allocation frameworks are built, Canadian tax and structure, common mistakes, and what a first private investment involves.
- 15Portfolio Construction8 min
How allocation frameworks for private markets are built: the factors they weigh, diversification by class, vintage year and manager, and illiquidity limits.
- 16Tax and Structure in Canada10 min
Canadian tax considerations for private investments: holding companies, registered accounts, T5013 slips and cost base, flow-through shares, foreign reporting.
- 17Common Mistakes7 min
Seven recurring errors in private-market investing, from chasing returns to investing without a written plan, and the three causes most of them share.
- 18What a First Private Investment Involves8 min
The steps a first private investment involves: investor categories and documents, written objectives, questions for dealers and managers, and advisers.