The Alliance has published its Group One standard - the industry's first ever detailed template for the exchange of data related to capital accounts, schedules of investments, and cash flow activity.

The guidelines previously outlined by the ILPA and IPEV provided a starting point for the working group's efforts. However, the new standard goes much further than anything the industry has seen before. It provides a robust, highly-detailed, fixed format data standard, and is now available for download from AltExchange.com.

The development follows a period of extensive consultation with members including GPs, LPs, TPAs and technology providers. Members helped to clarify industry terminology as well as decide on how information should be presented. Whereas previous attempts to define a data standard have been either GP-led or investor-led, this is the first time the two communities have come together to agree on a standard that works for all parties - an historic collaboration.

The Group One standard will now enter into a testing phase to be completed in early 2014, with full production scheduled for Q2. In the New Year, working groups will commence their focus on Group Two and Three of the standard. The Group One standard covers information central to the exchange of core quarterly data.

"The publication of the Group One standard is an industry milestone." says Kristine A. O'Connor, CFO at Franklin Park, "The cooperation among GPs and LPs is a testament to the private equity industry's enthusiasm for the AltExchange initiative. The willingness of members to work together to reach consensus is remarkable."

The AltExchange Alliance now has more than 45 member firms hailing from across North America, Europe, and Asia.