Comparison · 16 material differences
ACG vs UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA)
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Professional association
Verified September 2026 ACG
Middle-market mergers and acquisitions professionals: private equity investors, corporate development officers, lenders, investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and advisers…
Professional association
UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA)
UK private equity, venture capital and private credit fund managers, their institutional investors, and the advisers and service providers around them
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: ACG: Reduced young-professional rates are limited to first-time members aged 35 and under; UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA): No published maximum age at joining.
- Minimum investable assets: ACG: No published minimum investable assets; UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA): Family offices joining as limited partners must have at least £20m invested in European private equity and venture capital.
- Accredited-investor status: ACG: No published accredited-investor status; UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA): General partners must hold FCA or equivalent regulatory approval.
- Geographic restriction: ACG: No published geographic restriction; UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA): UK general partners must have an office or investments in the UK.
- Annual dues: ACG: Dues are set by each chapter, so the amounts above are examples rather than a national schedule.; UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA): £3,100–87,450 a year.
Side by side
| ACG | UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Professional association |
| Founded | 1954 | 1983 (Founded in 1983 as the British Venture Capital Association; the organization's own site says it has been the voice of private capital in the UK for over four decades) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, United States | London, United Kingdom |
| Geographic footprint | 61 local markets worldwide, grouped into seven regions (Canada, Central, Europe, Great Lakes, Northeast, Southeast, West); most chapters are in North America, with chapters in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom | United Kingdom; members are fund managers, investors and advisers with a UK office or UK investments |
| Members | 14,000as of September 2026 | 600as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 61 | Not applicable: the association has no chapter structure |
| Primary audience | Middle-market mergers and acquisitions professionals: private equity investors, corporate development officers, lenders, investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and advisers, plus PE-backed CEOs | UK private equity, venture capital and private credit fund managers, their institutional investors, and the advisers and service providers around them |
| Typical member | Members come from corporations, private equity firms, lenders and professional service firms working on middle-market transactions. ACG reports that 75% of members say they have done business with another member. Specialist networks exist for corporate development officers, family offices, PE-backed CEOs, operating partners, women and young professionals. | Member firms fall into four groups: general partners (PE, VC and private credit fund managers with a UK office or UK investments and FCA or equivalent regulatory approval), limited partners (pension funds, insurers, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, plus funds of funds and secondaries managers), professional services and financial institutions, and investee companies. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Reduced young-professional rates are limited to first-time members aged 35 and underApplies to discounted categories only (for example ACG New York's Forward membership, available for a maximum of two years); standard membership has no age limitverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published maximum age at joining |
| Minimum investable assets | No published minimum investable assets | Family offices joining as limited partners must have at least £20m invested in European private equity and venture capitalUnregulated family offices with £20m–£100m invested must also supply a written reference from an FCA-authorised member at partner level or aboveverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Accredited-investor status | No published accredited-investor status | General partners must hold FCA or equivalent regulatory approvalverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | UK general partners must have an office or investments in the UKverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Sometimes |
| Application process | Applicants pick a chapter using ACG's chapter locator and join or renew through the central portal at my.acg.org. There is no published interview, sponsorship or committee review; payment of chapter dues completes membership. A member referral programme exists but referral is not required. | Firms contact the membership team at membership@ukprivatecapital.co.uk or apply through the relevant membership category page. Eligibility is checked against the category criteria and the code of conduct, and a subscription band is set from the firm's size. Unregulated family offices in the £20m–£100m band additionally need a written reference from an FCA-authorised member at partner level or above. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed: ACG publishes no acceptance criteria or rejection data, and membership appears to be open to anyone working in middle-market M&A who pays chapter dues | Not publicly disclosed: the association publishes eligibility criteria but no acceptance data |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Dues are set by each chapter, so the amounts above are examples rather than a national schedule. | £3,100–87,450 a yearUK General Partner category, banded by European funds under management: £3,100 (£0–25m); £6,050 (£25–50m); £9,750 (£50–100m); £11,900 (£100–200m); £18,150 (£200–300m); £25,250 (£300–400m); £32,400 (£400–500m); £39,450 (£500–625m); £47,200 (£625–750m); £55,100 (£750–875m); £62,950 (£875m–£1bn); £70,850 (£1–5bn); £76,500 (£5–10bn); £87,450 (over £10bn)verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed: no separate initiation fee was found; the first-year rate is higher than the renewal rate at some chaptersverified September 2026 | All rates are published annual subscriptions. A special rate exists for first-time fund managers investing a first institutional fund; the amount was not located on the pages checked. |
| Local chapter dues | $725 a yearACG New York standard membership, first yearverified September 2026 · source ↗ | All rates are published annual subscriptions. A special rate exists for first-time fund managers investing a first institutional fund; the amount was not located on the pages checked. |
| Membership term | Annual, renewed through the chapter | Annual subscription |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | More than 1,200 events a year across the network; individual chapters typically run monthly or more frequent programmes, plus national conferences including DealMAX | A year-round calendar of conferences, summits, dinners and training courses, mostly in London |
| Peer forums | No confidential peer forums; members organise through chapters and seven cross-chapter specialist networks (corporate development officers, family offices, PE-backed CEOs, operating partners, Women of ACG, young professionals) | No peer-forum structure; members engage through committees, working groups and events |
| Confidentiality | Could not be independently verified: no published confidentiality policy was found | Could not be independently verified: no published confidentiality policy was found |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Event-focused | Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | Partial | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | No |
| Investment discussions | Yes | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | Yes | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: ACG · UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA)