Rob McCreary

In 2001 and 2009 the investment world was introduced to Nicolas Taleb and his two blockbusters “Fooled By Randomness” and “The Black Swan”. Arguing that some investment styles only work in certain conditions and not to confuse skill with luck, the first book schooled investors to look at a manager’s process not just his results. […]

My wife is a good cook. She claims it is all about following directions and has little to do with inspiration or special talents. While I doubt her modesty I do see her following closely the step by step recipes for dishes from Ina Garten, Giada DeLaurentiis, Mario Batali and James Beard that run from

The Wall Street Journal recently focused on the rise of family offices as significant disrupters of the private equity model. In an interesting article by Anupreeta Das and Juliet Chung entitled “New Force on Wall Street: The Family Office” the authors confirm a trend we have been seeing for the last 10 years. Increasingly, wealthy families

The Economist has an interesting journalistic twist. Several of its opinion columns like Schumpeter, Buttonwood and Bagehot are named for inflexion point economists, political theorists or iconic events. For example, Schumpeter is named for Joseph Schumpeter who published a 1942 best-seller called “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy”. Mr. Schumpeter was not bullish on the capitalist model

In a nation of chronically obese and out of shape citizens why does anyone want a smart refrigerator? Based on my superficial and uneducated experience with other smart devices like cellphones, autos, iPads, computers, and Fitbits I have formed an opinion that smart devices are way too needy. Take the iPhone; I get a notice

With a title like this you are probably thinking PE4Fams committed the cardinal sin of good journalism, a typo in the headline. Not so fast my proofreading friends, this blog is about disruptive technologies and the pervasive onslaught of India Pale Ales. The Economist Editorial staff produced a really interesting history of IPA’s in its

Turning the page on a great year is always bittersweet. While the future is exciting, the status quo is also mighty inviting. For private equity, 2016 will go down with Dickensian hyperbole as “The Best of Times”. Our business model turns on six or seven main ingredients, the absence of any one of which can

You can get a pulse of America by paying attention to the TV shows acceptable for hospital waiting rooms where comfort, tranquility and hope are cultivated among those patients and family waiting for judgment or healing. Based on my recent pre election waiting room experiences there are only 4 acceptable channels: Judge Judy HGTV The

It seems like the whole world is now fascinated by a business model that has been around for more than 40 years. In the October 22nd issue of The Economist an editorial panel took a look at Private Equity. Entitled “The Barbarian Establishment” the article is mostly complimentary: “Private Equity has prospered while almost every