Study Finds that the Average PE Investor Just Breaks Even
(Nov 2013)
Brendan Conway over at Barron's pointed out an interesting new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research entitled: Valuing Private Equity. Private Equity (PE) investments -- typically called limited partnerships (LPs) -- are long-term, illiquid securities representing (perhaps not surprisingly) an equity interest in a private company. Investors are typically referred to as limited partners. The study notes that while private equity returns tend to be high, "it remains controversial...
IRS Could Put a Halt to REIT Conversions
(Jun 2013)
We've talked a lot about real estate investment trusts (REITs) before. In the US, REITs are companies that invest at least 75% of their assets in real estate, pay out almost all of their annual income in dividends, but also pay little or no corporate income tax. As we've discussed before, many companies have tried to qualify for the REIT designation to reduce their tax liabilities, even if their business is only peripherally related to real estate.1 This 'REIT conversion boom' has been...
Big Wall Street Firms Pressure Their Salesmen to Favor House-Brands
(Jul 2012)
Financial advisors and brokers are bound by ethical guidelines to analyze and recommend investment products that are suitable and appropriate for their clients' investment objectives and tolerance for risk. In general, they are obliged to put their clients' best interests ahead of their own.
The New York Times reported Monday on the recent admission from a former JPMorgan mutual fund advisor that he sold JPMorgan funds over similar offerings from outside JPMorgan for no other reason than to...
The "New" Non-Traded REITs Look a Lot Like the Old Ones
(May 2012)
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article describing the "new versions" of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), which purport to solve some of the transparency issues which have made non-traded REITs the subject of regulatory scrutiny. In particular, several non-traded REITs are now offering daily updated net asset values (NAV) in an attempt to calm concerns regarding the lack of transparency in the pricing of non-traded REITs.
However, a review of the prospectus for...
Greg Smith Leaves Wall Street
(Mar 2012)
The New York Times published an op-ed by Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs' Executive Director who is resigning from his job after almost 12 years with the firm because, as he puts it, the firm's culture has veered far from what it was when he first joined the firm. He says in spite of the firm's recent scandals "the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money." At SLCG, we have come across many examples of the issues raised by Mr....
