The cash holdings of some private firms are eroding, leaving little for return-smoothing financial engineers to play with.

一些私人公司的现金持有量正在减少，几乎没有留给平滑回报的金融工程师发挥作用。

Private-equity bosses often claim it is their skills as business-operators, rather than financial engineers, which generate returns (and handsome fees).

私募股权公司的老板经常声称，产生回报（和可观的费用）的是他们作为企业经营者的技能，而不是金融工程师的技能。