Private equity firms have attracted millions of investors to tie up their money into various fund that run for about 10 years, or more. The private equity firms keep a part of the profit and fees, of course. If results are good, investors sign up for another decade. But according to the Wall Street Journal, more than 200 of roughly 10,000 funds raised during the past decade have returned far less money than was originally entrusted on them. And these dead funds manage a whopping $100 billion, says The Economist. Many industry experts say the sum will balloon in future. So, they qualify as zombie funds.
