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15 Investment Must Reads This Week

Nasdaq looked at why Bitcoin prices have dropped since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs. Private equity fundraising hit a six-year low in 2023, according to Preqin data. These are among the investment must reads we found this week for wealth advisors.

  1. This Investing Phenomenon Could Be Why Bitcoin Prices Are Down After ETF Approval “Cryptocurrency prices are far more volatile than stocks, but their general movement tends to align closely with the stock market. It makes sense, then, that the crypto market suffers from many of the same peculiarities as stocks.” (Nasdaq.com)
  2. Deal-By Deal Private Equity Gains Momentum In Alternatives Arena “Investors are increasingly seeking to supplement their private equity fund investments by investing on a deal-by-deal basis, which gives them more flexibility both in terms of the types of companies they can back and the sort of deal structures in which they can invest.” (Wealth Briefing)
  3. BlackRock stresses financial strength over ESG in company calls “BlackRock’s language on climate change in corporate engagement has shifted as the political pressure has grown in recent years. In 2021, its engagement priorities said “we expect companies to articulate how they are aligned to a scenario in which global warming is limited to well below 2C”. It made similar statements in 2022 and last year.” (Financial Times)
  4. Grayscale Led the Fight for Bitcoin ETFs. Now Its Fund Is Bleeding Billions. “Investors cashed out $2.8 billion from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust after it converted into an ETF on Jan. 11, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data through Friday. In contrast, nine newly launched spot-bitcoin ETFs have drawn about $4 billion in inflows within their first six trading days, with funds from BlackRock and Fidelity Investments each attracting more than $1 billion in inflows.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  5. Why GP Stake Funds are Booming “Harsh market conditions have germinated a new opportunity for private equity investors: general partner (GP) stakes. Dormant until very recently, this asset class now faces a wave of new buyers, eager sellers and surging capital.” (Mergers & Acquisitions)
  6. Private equity fundraising plunges to 6-year low in 2023 “Global private equity fundraising fell 11.5% year over year by aggregate value in 2023, the lowest total since 2017, while the 1,936 funds closed was the smallest annual number since at least 2015, according to Preqin data.” (S&P Global Market Intelligence)
  7. Crypto Funds Have Arrived. But Who Needs Them? “Simply being legal doesn’t make a strategy sensible for most investors. In fact, while approving the Bitcoin E.T.F.s, the agency also issued an explicit warning against FOMO investing in so-called digital assets — as it has done many times before.” (The New York Times)
  8. Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk “So-called cat bonds are used by the insurance industry to shield itself from losses too big to cover. That risk is instead transferred to investors willing to accept the chance that they may lose a part of — or all — their capital if disaster hits. In exchange, they get rewarded with outsize profits if a contractually pre-defined catastrophe doesn’t occur.” (Insurance Journal)
  9. Charles Schwab Just Survived a Year From Hell. The Trouble Isn’t Over Yet. “On a conference call, executives said financial results should improve in the year ahead, setting Schwab up for growth in 2025 and beyond. But they described 2024 as ‘transitional’ and dependent on factors that are difficult to predict: the trajectory of interest rates, the stock market and the behavior of new clients.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  10. A Guide to Depreciation Recapture for Real Estate “Depreciation recapture is a tax provision that requires a taxpayer to increase the gain on a profitable sale of an asset for amounts the taxpayer previously reported depreciation deductions to offset taxable income. Understanding the impact that depreciation recapture may have on a business’ tax liability can support owners in navigating the sale of an asset.” (EisnerAmper)
  11. Three Lessons From Family Offices For 2024 “Many family offices are turning away from the volatile public markets and toward the calmer waters of private investments. Think real estate portfolios that mature over years, private equity funds with long-term horizons and innovative startups poised for sustained growth.” (Forbes Business Council)
  12. Private Credit Reporting Requirements Proposed by US Banking Regulators “On December 27, 2023, the US federal banking regulators proposed a new set of reporting requirements for bank loans and commitments to private credit lenders and intermediaries. This change reflects not only the rapid growth in this sector, but also the regulators’ desire to better understand and supervise concentrations of credit and risk in the US banking system.” (Mayer Brown)
  13. How private credit became one of the hottest investments on Wall Street “This happened in part due to banks retrenching from the lending market after the Great Financial Crisis in 2008 with new regulations. It also has roots in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy of holding interest rates near 0% for a decade.” (CNBC)
  14. For Real Estate Companies, Going Private Is the New Going Public “Even though many of them have also been forced to write down their valuations, it is nothing close to what public REITs have seen their stock prices fall to. It is for that reason that we are seeing more and more public real estate portfolios being bought up by private companies.” (Propmodo)
  15. Blackstone and Brookfield Real Estate Income Trusts Post Their Worst Annual Performances “The results reflect the fast pace of interest rate increases through early last year that caused investors to hold back on buying property or refinancing with far higher borrowing costs than just a year earlier. Those higher costs cut into potential returns and both REITs focus on income-producing properties, with Blackstone REIT run by Blackstone Group in New York and Brookfield REIT controlled by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management.” (Bisnow)
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