Archives

This retrospective provides links to and excerpts from some of the most read postings published in 2024.

Sentiment checks on public and private equity markets lead this edition. Also: sell-side analysts, alts for the masses, the Law of One Price (violated), a whiz kid (years on), mutual funds and unicorns, the worst time to do due diligence, hedge fund evolution, and still more.

In addition to the title topics, this edition includes a comparison between Milken’s Drexel and today’s private equity, quant investing, the total portfolio approach, bubble potential, green bonds, a look back at the subprime meltdown, and much more.

The format stays roughly the same from issue to issue, but the content is always fresh — curated links on important matters from around the investment ecosystem.

There is a slate of good reads herein, on gender differences in analyst reports, a bold take on fiduciary duty for investment advisory firms, a changed corporate credit landscape, private equity liquidity, an old Barton Biggs strategy piece, and more.

A selection of ideas spanning the identification of skill, how to make a pitch, long-term factor premiums, “the noise factory,” the prisoner’s dilemma in private markets, strategic allocation, culture at scale, and a pioneering behavioral economist.

Along with the topics in the title there are items on the excess return profiles of equity positions, some pushback to the OCIO momentum, a rework of the PE playbook, a move to barbells in fixed income investing, and many more important ideas.

How analysts come up with target prices, differences of opinion in private equity, basic investing frameworks, and a raft of interesting reads from across the investment spectrum.

In addition to the topics referenced in the title, there are items on active management, an insider’s tale, corporate life cycles, a quant renaissance, buyout conflicts, forecast storytelling, insider trading, and the insatiable private markets.

The usual potpourri of interesting reads includes market spasms, safety in numbers, changes in the VC landscape, ESG as the latest in a line of roller coaster investment trends, and a dozen other important topics.

In this issue: NAV loans, an explosion in options trading, responsible investing, the PE liquidity squeeze, multi-family offices, fund crowding, secondaries, managing downside risk, and still more.

Lots of important readings in this edition. In addition to the ones featured in the title: investment model validation, the life cycle of popular stocks, secondaries, venture capital, finding ideas, changes in trading, skin in the game, and several more.

Perspectives on active and passive (and the magnificent), commercial real estate, generating attribution commentaries, the Archegos unwind, hedge funds as “alpha-negative and beta-light,” optimization problems, and elephants in the IC meeting room.

Manager selection, deal-making, proxy voting, private markets adoption and governance, instant performance, raising capital, listed and unlisted real estate, “a question that can be asked about everything,” and several more ideas of note.

“AI corner,” bank losses, market sentiment and concentration, analyst ratings, public fund performance, diversity in asset management, ESG as a luxury good, limited partner advisory committees, and a few other things. Dig in!