Technology, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Leadership, Entrepreneurship
Category: Investment Banks
Want to pick a fight with Microsoft, Amazon or Google? Don't take them head on. Build out a vertical offering that leverages bleeding edge technology combined with deep domain expertise. Control the entire user experience/customer journey. One could argue that Fanatics and Shopify (tkr: SHOP) have done just that in the world of E-commerce. SS&C … Continue reading “Verticalization” Is Where It’s At
We ran a Natural Language Processing ("NLP")-based analysis of earnings calls from this week. We captured keywords and phrases from 23 earnings calls. Our report is sorted alphabetically by ticker symbol. Access the free report HERE. This analysis may be customized to capture certain keywords and phrases for any text-based document. https://soundcloud.com/ceorater
Layoffs are not only taking place across the retail, restaurant, travel and hospitality industries. A number of other industries including the Technology industry have absorbed their fair share of layoffs as well. Some early-stage Technology companies are conserving cash by replacing cash compensation with equity. The list below includes approximately 60 companies (primarily Tech companies) … Continue reading Layoffs Have Extended Beyond Hotels and Restaurants
The macro trade where stocks fell in unison in late March only to recover in unison in early April is doomed to fail. We will re-test market lows. A staggered economic recovery will require that investors identify "winning" stocks coming out of the downturn and avoid "value traps". Life is about who you choose to … Continue reading Investors: Sharpen Your Pencils!
We are due for an equity market shakeout. The NASDAQ is up 450% since January 2009. The 26% spike in the NASDAQ from October 2019 to February 2020 on a lack of supporting fundamentals is like nothing I've ever seen. By late March we had traded down 30% from February's high yet we have gained … Continue reading The Market Is Upside Down
Update on our "Buy & Hold" mock portfolio. This is an experiment we started last year where we buy quality names into the portfolio and essentially only sell when there is a change in executive management (CEO leaves). Microsoft (tkr: MSFT) is probably the world's most durable company and SS&C Technologies (tkr: SSNC) is one … Continue reading CEORater Mock Portfolio
Policy makers have held interest rates artificially low since the 2008 financial crisis. This unnatural act - preventing interest rates from finding a natural equilibrium - made it difficult for investors to find yield and equity market valuations ballooned as a result. The cheap debt train has pulled into the station. (See the debt issuance … Continue reading Cheap Debt: The Gift that Kept on Giving
High Yield debt is High Yield because of the underlying risk profile of the issuer. "Whole Business" securities masked this risk - and won High Grade status - by pledging additional assets. Guess which security type is blowing up? High Yield debt is High Yield no matter how you package it. High Yield issuance exploded … Continue reading High Yield Is High Yield No Matter How You Securitize It
Time for VC's to write down their portfolios. The same holds true for Private Equity portfolios. We led with VC's in the title because venture-backed valuations bear little resemblance to any economic reality whereas private equity valuations are largely grounded in reality. Public company valuations are not going to snap back to normal. The U.S. … Continue reading Public Service Message to VC’s: Time to Write Down Your Portfolios
It is difficult to get excited about Morgan Stanley's recently announced acquisition of ETrade. The latter is essentially a no growth business (P&L below), competing in a cut-throat market. On the other hand, Square - albeit a larger company that would command a larger price - is a FinTech leader in growing consumer markets. If … Continue reading Square Makes More Sense for Morgan Stanley
