The Private Equity for Families Blog
Insight for those interested in private equity or direct investment in privately-held businesses. The opinions expressed in the PE4Fams blog are those of Rob McCreary and not necessarily those of CW Industrial Partners or its employees.
Losers Get Indexed Too
A January 9, 2020, Wall Street Journal article by James Mackintosh entitled “Money Losing Stocks Mushroom Even As Stocks Hit New Highs” cautions about the high percentage of publicly traded stocks that show three years of losses but still are experiencing significant price appreciation. Here is a chart from
New Year Numerology
Mark Twain is credited with saying “History Does Not Repeat Itself, But It does Rhyme”. So, as we enter year 2020, I looked for the last year in the United States history that repeated, and also the only other year in the Julian calendar which both repeats and also
Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is a hot topic right now. It should be. A large swath of the younger population in the United States could not pass a basic financial literacy test, much less debate the pros and cons of capitalism. In recognition of this deficiency, Barrons devoted a Special Report,
Major League Baseball Will Cut 42 Minor League Teams
When the Houston Astros aren’t allegedly stealing signs, doing advanced analytics, or deploying infielders like short fielders in slow pitch softball, they are obviously sniffing the air of change in the wage and hour world. Recent articles from The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Fan Graphs all
How Hard Can This Be?
I have never been good at betting on NFL football. Invariably, I am on the wrong side of picking the over/under or the winner, especially Superbowl games. I always thought it was my lack of information. So this season I entered two NFL football pools sponsored by a friend,
An Emerging Third World Opportunity
There is always a large dose of wonder and a small amount of dread about travel to developing parts of the world. The electrical grid and connecting your devices usually mean at least 5 different connector models, none of which really work when you actually get to your destination.
Texas hold ’em
Every year The World Series of Poker hosts the finals of the Texas hold ’em competition where the best poker players in the world compete for a multi-million-dollar purse. Unlike most other poker hands, the players in Texas hold ’em get 2 down cards which they alone can see,
Who’s Your Cyborg?
In the movie “Terminator” machines with artificial intelligence provoke a nuclear holocaust with the objective of eliminating humanity. While they almost succeed, the future reveals a small, but determined, human resistance led by John Connor. In that future Connor is on the verge of eliminating the machines when they
Negative Interest Rates
There are only a few financial occurrences in my lifetime as confusing as negative interest rates. In September 2015, I wrote a blog about living in a Bizarro World where everything is reversed ( https://capitalworks.net/i-am-living-in-a-bizarro-world/). Negative interest rates are just the latest Bizarro example where you have to pay more
Elon Musk
I did not appreciate Elon Musk until I read Ashlee Vance’s biography entitled “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future”. The author is clearly a Musk advocate and he looks past Elon’s shenanigans to find a once in a century mind working from what he
Ninth Wonder Of Financial World
If the US Bond Market is the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Depositary Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is certainly the Ninth. Most people have never heard of DTCC but in 2012 it and two of its subsidiaries were named Systemically Important Financial Market Utilities (SIFMU’s”). SIFMUs are
Facebook’s Libra May Be a SuckerBit
Mark Zuckerberg would be one of the last people on the planet I would trust with my financial information, but obviously his Board of Directors must see it differently. Facebook announced that it would introduce its own cryptocurrency called Libra tied to a market basket of world currencies and
Newspapers and the First Amendment
A recent article in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal “News Industry, a Stark Divide Between Haves and Have-Nots” highlights the demise of the newspaper industry in the United States. Even though digital is taking over print, the speed of the death spiral is nonetheless surprising. What
Phone a Friend
In the Game Show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” when they were unsure of their final answer contestants had three lifelines. My favorite was Phone A Friend because the interaction was often hilarious, usually unexpected and often wrong. Who Wants To Be A Trillionaire? I could not stop
Moneyball for Hedge Funds
Business and sports understand the importance of a scorecard. But what if CEOs only got the final earnings number, or if Jordan Speith’s only input for improving his game was his 18-hole score instead of fairways hit, greens in regulation, sand saves and putts? Similarly, what if Mookie Betts
A Gutsy Call on Interest Rates
I guess I am just a sucker for contrarian thinkers, but when I first read Stephanie Pomboy’s investment guidance in an article by Barron’s Leslie Norton on March 22, 2018, I was a little skeptical about her thesis. In the face of a new Fed chairman’s committed interest rate
What Baseball Teaches You About Talent Recognition and Retention
When pitchers and catchers report for spring training the winter of my mind officially ends. My seasonal affective disorder of endless nights fades to a new dawn of clarity and understanding. I begin to see baseball as a metaphor for business. There is a significant problem in baseball right
Experts Looking at Corporate Balance Sheets
Barron’s recently invited 10 leading financial minds to look into their crystal balls and predict how capital markets may fare in 2019. This round table is always interesting, but you have to remember panelists’ perspectives are usually tied to the industry that pays their salary. Abby Joseph Cohen is
Opportunity Zones- Gimmick or Gamechanger?
A little-known provision of the Trump Tax Reform Act of 2017 was bipartisan support for an interesting tax incentive around investments in Opportunity Zones. This is the hottest tax dodge since tax shelters in the 1980’s, but whether it will serve its purpose of distressed community development is uncertain.
Zombie Stocks Are Alive And Well
The zombie motif was popularized by the horror movie “Night of the Living Dead” where zombies and vampires morphed into aggressive and deadly undead preying on humans. The zombie concept moved into finance with the advent of Zombie Banks in Japan in the “lost decade” of the 1990s. Those
China Debt—Opportunity or Contagion?
Remember when a Japanese investment group bought Pebble Beach Golf Blub September 1990? It seemed like every important asset was being gobbled up by an ascendant Japanese economy. Soon thereafter in 1992 the Japanese real estate market crashed and then, in a great imitation of a kamikaze, the Nikeii
This blog represents the views of Rob McCreary and do not reflect those of CW Industrial Partners or its employees. This blog is not intended as investment advice. Any discussion of a specific security is for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as indicative of such security’s current or future value. Readers should consult with their own financial advisors before making an investment decision.