Folks say it's hard to lose money in private equity in these golden days of the industry, but apparently Roger Greville has made it look easy. Greville, described as a former New Zealand Treasury official and an economist, was hired by Henderson Private Capital to manage a £600 million (US$1 billion) mandate for two million policyholders of U.K. insurer the Pearl Group, and managed to lose £100 million (US$173.7 million) at a time when private equity is booming. Hugh Osmond, who acquired Pearl last year, has criticized Henderson's decision to put the funds in the hands of a "novice" like Greville, who Osmond said, in an interview with The Times of London, appears to have "limited experience in the asset class" before receiving the Pearl assignment. (Greville, says The Times, joined Henderson when it and Pearl belonged to Australian Mutual Provident.) The Times says Greville's poor investment decisions – he reportedly invested in an Italian fitness club chain whose CEO had been charged with fraud –contributed to the losses, but Henderson is not about to give up on its manager. A firm spokesman told The Times, "Private equity is a long-term game and we don't see much sense in call the final score at half time." For Greville's sake, and that of his investors, let's hope he pulls out a come-from-behind victory.