IQ, IP and 8 Commandments of Corporate Governance

Recent dealings with a company led me to think about the relationship between corporate governance, creativity, innovation and what it takes to create or indeed wreck a successful enterprise. A result of having been involved in well over 100 private equity transactions (I’ve long ago stopped counting), Mark no doubt

Read More »

The Bubble is in Cash, Not Stocks…

We are repeatedly reminded by many so-called “experts” that the stock market is in a bubble, and that when central bank quantitative easing programs end stock markets will “crash.” However, it would appear that the only bubble is people’s uncertainty of the future and their desire to hold large sums

Read More »

How Putin Just Saved Europe, and Other Geopolitical Tales

Picture this scenario. A brother and sister squabbling with one another. Something’s gone wrong, they’re blaming each other, fighting, and generally at each other’s throats. Along comes the boy from next door who pokes fun at one of them and starts pestering them. Brother and sister rapidly put aside their

Read More »

The Ugly Truth about Diamonds Monopoly

The word monopoly has its roots in the Greek words monos (single) and polein (to sell). It first appeared in Aristotle’s Politics, where Aristotle describes how in Greece in the 6th century BC the philosopher Thales of Miletus cornered the local olive press market: Thales, so the story goes, because

Read More »

All Eyes Should Be on Volatility

We will be travelling to Aspen for our Meet Up this week. In the meantime, below is a thought provoking comment on market volatility from our friend Mark Schumacher from ThinkGrowth, a boutique investment advisory firm. Hope you enjoy it! ———— The stock market is currently in correction mode. The Dow Jones

Read More »

Shark Tank on a Chair Lift

You’ve probably seen one of those ridiculous TV shows where some guy or girl has to pick from a lineup of potential partners. Contestants compete with one another to “win the affection” of a chosen bachelor or bachelorette. An hour long dinner date or a walk on the beach and

Read More »

Coffee Mugs, Human Organs, and AK-47s

In a post entitled “The Future of Manufacturing” we pontificated on one of the technologies which our team and network had been encountering around the world. What we were seeing with 3D printing we believed was changing our world. Naturally, as investors we found an interest in the technology, even

Read More »

The World’s Most Crowded Trade

With over $900 billion invested into bond funds by mom-and-pop investors since the global financial crisis, the great law of unintended consequence is gearing up to rear its ugly head. Once again, money will be taken from those least able to afford it. Take a look at the graph below,

Read More »