PE4FAMs Blog

I am stunned by the rapid fire set of initiatives by the Labor Department under the leadership of the ambitious Thomas Perez. In the last six months he has called for changes in the minimum wage, the level of pay that will exempt an employee from overtime and the imposition of a fiduciary standard on […]

Key Private Bank publishes periodic updates on sectors of the economy they cover from an equity research standpoint. In one of their latest publications “Key Perspectives: Energy Outlook March 2016 – Revisiting Lower For Longer” Stephen Hoedt wrote an update on his publication from November regarding the duration of the oil and gas supply glut.

I participated in a one day strategy session for one of our portfolio companies where the lunch time entertainment was a You Tube video of Patrick Lencioni speaking about his business bestseller “Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team”. I don’t know if our facilitator was suggesting our management team was dysfunctional but I know

I have noticed one constant about confirmed retirees. Universally, they rarely talk about what they did for their careers. I mean almost never. I have met, played golf with, played tennis with, skied with, gone to dinner with and had a few beers with an assortment of people who literally powered the GDP of America

Whenever there is something written about Seth Klarman, or even more importantly, when the man speaks himself, I stop whatever I am doing to read or listen. Mr. Klarman is the founder of Baupost Group which is one of the best performing hedge funds of all time. What I like about Mr. Klarman is his

The cost of an education in Chicago is going up. In its weekly fixed income update Wasmer Schroeder, a fixed income manager with offices in Cleveland and Florida, announced a failed financing: “The Chicago Board of Education attempted to bring $874 million in bonds to market last week, with most of the proceeds earmarked towards

Make Sure You Locate the Cashier A trip to Las Vegas is always interesting. If you are willing to trade light deprivation, sensory overload and spacial disorientation for free drinks, great people watching and endless opportunities to lose money, this is nirvana. Recently, I had the opportunity to spend three nights at Planet Hollywood while

I love it when our country comes together as it did last Wednesday night. There was so much expectation after a long hiatus.  There were long lines in Washington especially around the Capitol where Republican and Democratic campaign fundraising had stalled.  Planning for what we would do with $930 million when we won the POWERBALL

I am a constant and unapologetic advocate for the private equity asset class for many reasons: Alignment of manager and investor Prudent use of leverage Interest rate and tax environments have been supportive Own an asset that makes something or provides an essential service Businesses create and preserve jobs Investment returns over the last 25