Behind the push toward co-investing

Co-investing also allows general partners to reduce their portfolio's exposure in an under-performing investment. "In this climate, it's a way for GPs to lay off some of their risk," said Andrew Apfelberg, corporate and finance partner with Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP in Los Angeles. "On top of that, it allows them to effectively punch above their weight, as it were."