MICUK: Private Markets AUM Growth Will Remain Resilient

The Morningstar Star Rating for Stocks is assigned based on an analyst’s estimate of a stocks fair value. It is projection/opinion and not a statement of fact. Morningstar assigns star ratings based on an analyst’s estimate of a stock’s fair value. Four components drive the Star Rating: (1) our assessment of the firm’s economic moat, (2) our estimate of the stock’s fair value, (3) our uncertainty around that fair value estimate and (4) the current market price. This process culminates in a single-point star rating that is updated daily. A 5-star represents a belief that the stock is a good value at its current price; a 1-star stock isn’t. If our base-case assumptions are true the market price will converge on our fair value estimate over time, generally within three years. Investments in securities are subject to market and other risks. Past performance of a security may or may not be sustained in future and is no indication of future performance. For detail information about the Morningstar Star Rating for Stocks, please visit here

Quantitative Fair Value Estimate represents Morningstar’s estimate of the per share dollar amount that a company’s equity is worth today. The Quantitative Fair Value Estimate is based on a statistical model derived from the Fair Value Estimate Morningstar’s equity analysts assign to companies which includes a financial forecast of the company. The Quantitative Fair Value Estimate is calculated daily. It is a projection/opinion and not a statement of fact. Investments in securities are subject to market and other risks. Past performance of a security may or may not be sustained in future and is no indication of future performance. For detail information about the Quantiative Fair Value Estimate, please visit here

The Morningstar Medalist Rating is the summary expression of Morningstar’s forward-looking analysis of investment strategies as offered via specific vehicles using a rating scale of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. The Medalist Ratings indicate which investments Morningstar believes are likely to outperform a relevant index or peer group average on a risk-adjusted basis over time. Investment products are evaluated on three key pillars (People, Parent, and Process) which, when coupled with a fee assessment, forms the basis for Morningstar’s conviction in those products’ investment merits and determines the Medalist Rating they’re assigned. Pillar ratings take the form of Low, Below Average, Average, Above Average, and High. Pillars may be evaluated via an analyst’s qualitative assessment (either

Tatton IM launches three passive multi-asset funds

VT Tatton Passive Cautious, the VT Tatton Passive Balanced and the VT Tatton Passive Growth funds are risk-rated as four, five and six by Defaqto, respectively. They are meant to complement Tatton’s managed portfolio service and expand on its existing Tatton Blended Funds hybrid range.  CEO and CIO of Tatton Lothar Mentel said the new funds are set to “benefit our proven investment process” and provide repeatable performance “at very competitive cost”. “We have designed the asset mix to complement our managed portfolio service to offer a consistent investment approach across our di…

Littlejohn & Co exits IT recruitment agency Motion

Connecticut-based private equity firm Littlejohn & Co will sell IT staffing and recruitment agency Motion Recruitment Partners to global specialty talent solutions provider Kelly for $425m in cash, in a transaction that is expected to close in Q2 2024. 

Under the terms of the agreement, there is potentially an additional earnout of up to $60 million based on performance criteria. Additional details about the transaction will be provided in Kelly’s Q1 earnings conference call on 9 May.

According to a press release, Kelly will fund the transaction through debt and available capital, including the redeployment of around $100m from the sale of its European staffing operations in January.

The transaction is expected to build on Kelly Science, Engineering & Technology (SET), its life sciences and engineering staffing provider; KellyOCG, its managed services staffing and solutions provider; Kelly Professional & Industrial, its industrial staffing provider; and Kelly Education, its education staffing provider.

In a statement, Peter Quigley, President and CEO of Kelly, described Motion’s businesses as “an exceptional fit for Kelly’s SET and OCG segments”.

Kelly is being advised by Houlihan Lokey and Jasso Lopez. MRP is being advised by Robert W Baird and Baker Hostetler.

Stanley Druckenmiller gives Biden’s economic policies an ‘F,’ blames the Fed for reigniting inflation

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller on Tuesday blasted fiscal and monetary authorities, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, for causing high inflation. “Bidenomics, If I was a professor, I’d give him an ‘F,'” Druckenmiller said. Druckenmiller also called himself a “man without a candidate” as he feels a Donald Trump presidency would fuel inflation. “To some extent, I feel like they fumbled on the five yard line,” he said of the Fed.

Reckless government spending enabled by the Federal Reserve is hurting average Americans and endangering President Joe Biden’s chances at getting reelected, billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller said Tuesday.

During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the head of Duquesne Family Office who made his name betting against the British pound in the early 1990s blasted fiscal and monetary authorities, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

In addition, he called “Bidenomics” a failure and said consumers are paying the price in terms of higher inflation.

“There does seem to be a lot more recognition … of the fiscal situation facing us. Everybody seems to get it but Yellen, who just keeps spending and spending,” Druckenmiller said. “I think it’s dumb politically because it’s causing inflation and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the average American is getting hurt by the inflation.”

Druckenmiller’s comments come with the Fed still trying to bring inflation down, as policymakers have dashed investors’ hopes for aggressive interest rate cuts this year.

Getting markets enthused about rate reductions was a mistake because it set financial conditions “on fire,” he said.

“It seemed to me the Fed was in a perfect position. Inflation was coming down, financial conditions were tightening,” he said. “To some extent, I feel like they fumbled on the five-yard line.”

The Fed’s mistake

Though Druckenmiller said his firm was “a major beneficiary” of the jump in asset prices and easing conditions, he still thinks the Fed’s pivot in late 2023 to push harder on the idea that rate cuts were coming was a mistake. The Fed at that point only upped its unofficial forecast from two to three cuts. However, investors interpreted comments from Powell in December to mean that a substantial policy easing was ahead.

Elected officials generally welcome low interest rates.

CNBC

Kian Capital Partners exits managed IT services provider The Purple Guys 

North Carolina-based private equity firm Kian Capital Partners has sold its stake in The Purple Guys, a managed IT services provider to small- and mid-sized businesses, to Ntiva, a portfolio company of asset manager PSP Capital.  

Kian and co-investor ParkSouth Ventures initially acquired The Purple Guys as well as Network Technologies in 2020, with a majority recapitalisation and merger of Enterprise Computing Services and My IT. Following a rebranding, the company completed and integrated seven additional acquisitions, according to a press release.

The Purple Guys was advised by Harris Williams, Robinson Bradshaw and FORVIS.

Specialist energy PE firm Bluewater exits ROVOP

Specialist energy private equity firm Bluewater has sold its stake in ROVOP, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services provider for the energy sector, to US-based marine transportation solutions provider Edison Chouest Offshore. 

Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Through its Blue Water Energy Fund II, Bluewater first invested in ROVOP in 2017, investing again alongside UK venture capital provider BGF in 2020. Bluewater assumed full ownership in 2022, facilitating a $25m investment from Cordiant Capital intended for further growth.

ROVOP reported a 31% increase in revenue, reaching £53m for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2023.

Charted: What Frustrates Americans About the Tax System

Published

7 seconds ago

on

May 7, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

What Frustrates Americans About the Tax System

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In this visualization, we show Pew Research’s findings on what bothers Americans the most about the tax system.

This data was collected after surveying more than 5,000 American adults between the period of March 27-April 2, 2023.

The survey was weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population. Visit Pew Research’s methodology page for more details.

Americans Want More Taxes for Some

Six in every 10 Americans feel that both corporations and the wealthy don’t pay their fair share in federal taxes.

Their sentiments are not entirely unfounded.

Very frustratedSomewhat frustratedNot much/
at all frustrated 🏦 Corporations
don’t pay a fair share61%22%15% 💼 Wealthy people
don’t pay a fair share60%22%17% 🤔 Complexity of
the tax system53%32%13% 💸 Amount of tax paid38%33%29% 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Poor people don’t
pay a fair share13%21%64%
Note: No answer responses are not shown, thus percentages may not sum to 100.

A 2021 ProPublica investigation found some of the wealthiest Americans—also the wealthiest people in the world—did not pay a single penny in federal income taxes in some years.

A significant part of why this is possible is how taxes are collected depending on the source. Since much of the top 1% grow their wealth in equity and property, they are not subject to taxes until they make an actual transaction.

As this Brookings Institution article explains: most Americans make money through their wages, and wages are subject to heavier taxation than capital income. Thus, the tax share of America’s highest-income households is often lower than America’s middle-income households.

Finally, Pew Research noted that their findings were essentially unchanged since 2021.

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Walt Disney, Hims & Hers, Palantir and more

Schroders Investment Solutions CIO Alex Funk exits to join PortfolioMetrix

Funk will join office on 1 August. Prior to Schroders, he was the CIO of Benchmark Capital from 2019 to 2021. Before moving to the UK, he served as chief executive t Cinnabar Investment Management in South Africa. The appointment comes as Nic Spicer steps back from his operational role at the discretionary management firm to pursue a master’s degree in Sustainable Energy Futures at Imperial College. Head of UK wealth Doug Abbott exits Schroders for Vanguard after 15 years Spicer will remain a shareholder in the business and will run an extensive handover process. He helped launch P…

Stanley Druckenmiller cut his Nvidia stake in late March, says AI may be a bit overhyped short term

Stanley Druckenmiller, Duquesne Family Office, at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha, Sept. 28, 2022. Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller revealed Tuesday that he has slashed his big bet in chipmaker Nvidia earlier this year, saying the swift artificial intelligence boom could be overdone in the short run.

“We did cut that and a lot of other positions in late March. I just need a break. We’ve had a hell of a run. A lot of what we recognized has become recognized by the marketplace now.” Druckenmiller said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Druckenmiller said he reduced the bet after “the stock went from $150 to $900.” “I’m not Warren Buffett; I don’t own things for 10 or 20 years. I wish I was Warren Buffett,” he added.

Nvidia has been the primary beneficiary of the recent technology industry obsession with large artificial intelligence models, which are developed on the company’s pricey graphics processors for servers. The stock was one of the best performers last year, rallying a whopping 238%. Shares are up another 66% in 2024.

Arrows pointing outwards

The notable investor, who now runs Duquesne Family Office, said he was introduced to Nvidia by his young partner in the fall of 2022, who believed that the excitement about blockchain was going to be far outweighed by AI.

“I didn’t even know how to spell it,” Druckenmiller said. “I bought it. Then a month later ChatGPT happened. Even an old guy like me could figure out okay, what that meant, so I increased the position substantially.”

While Druckenmiller has cut his Nvidia position this year, he said he remains bullish in the long term on the power of AI.

“So AI might be a little overhyped now, but underhyped long term,” he said. “AI could rhyme with the Internet. As we go through all this capital spending we need to do the payoff while it’s incrementally coming in by the day. The big payoff might be four to five years from now.”

Druckenmiller once managed George Soros’ Quantum Fund and shot to fame after helping make a $10 billion bet against the British pound in 1992. He later oversaw $12 billion as president of Duquesne Capital Management before closing his firm in 2010. 

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

CNBC