PEGCC provides a video that explains “What is Private Equity?”

Private Equity is disorganized in its fight against baseless attacks, says William Barnum, a partner with Brentwood Associates. He also confirms that Brentwood will be fundraising later this year for its fifth fund.

President Obama’s plans to change the carried interest tax is getting more attention today.

Obama on Monday pitched a plan, which uses tax increases and entitlement cuts, to slash the federal deficit by $3 trillion, according to the New York Times. In the PE world, it’s the President’s introduction of the so-called “Buffett Rule” — which aims to change carried interest — that is getting tons of play.

Obama called to overhaul the tax code, Bloomberg News reported Monday. His plan aims to eliminate the “special lower rates for the wealthy,” which were “meant to be temporary,” the story says.

What’s a PE index?

According to the Private Equity Growth Capital Council, the index is designed to provide “an accurate snapshot of the state of the private equity market at any given point in time.” The index, PEGCC said, reached its highest level at the end of first quarter since the height of the recession. What is that? The index settled at 119.2, which is way above its 10-year moving average of 100, but still below the high reached in Q4 2006 of 154.9.

So things are good, I guess. Much more relevant–for me–is the data PEGCC kinda put together. The dollar volume of PE-backed M&A fell by 25.7% to $51.7 billion in first quarter compared to $69.6 billion in fourth quarter 2010, PEGCC said citing Thomson Reuters data. The reason for the decline? The PEGCC said it was the lack of “large and mega buyout activity” this year.