Category Archives: Private equity

Bill Black: Wall Street Declares War Against Bernie Sanders

The attacks on Sanders from Wall Street are getting ever more shrill….about time the felt some heat.

CalPERS CEO Anne Stausboll to Retire June 30

CalPERS’ CEO Anne Stausboll unexpectedly announced her plan to retire. The most probable explanation does not reflect well on her.

Bloomberg Spotlights Poor Private Equity Returns From Last “Peak of Cycle” Mega Deals

Buying at the peak rarely works out, as private equity’s pre-crisis mega deals confirm. Yet general partners fared really well.

Why is CalPERS Understating Its Cost of Investing in Private Equity by Roughly $1.6 Billion, Meaning 80%?

CalPERS keeps putting its hand in the buzzsaw by presenting misleading or outright false information about private equity fees and costs.

Bond Investors Get Skittish as Record Wave of Acquisitions Push to Close Financings

Standard & Poors warns of the worst drop in the “net outlook bias” for bond investors since the financial crisis.

Private Equity Firms Muscling Lenders by Choosing and Paying for Their Lawyers

I really wanted to lay off private equity for a bit, but the news flow keeps getting in the way.

Private Equity Made Bad Bet on Ships, Hit by Collapse in China Trade

Private equity’s misadventure in ships is yet another proof of both hubris and too much money looking for deals.

The Twelve Days of CalPERS

Will “The Twelve Days of CalPERS ” become a new holiday classic?

CalPERS: Stockholm Syndrome and Cowardice on Private Equity Fee Disclosure

I have wanted to leave CalPERS alone. Really. Truly. But they keep asking for attention in the worst possible way.

Wolf Richter: IPO Window Suddenly Closes, “Worst Year Since 2009,” Worst December Since 2008

The IPO market shutting down does not bode well for private equity returns, and may be sending a warning about real economy prospects.

Pensions & Investment Editorial Savages Trustees for Failing to Perform Fiduciary Duty Over Private Equity Fees

Pensions & investments, in an astonishingly outspoken editorial, excoriated fund trustees for failing to perform their fiduciary duty and called for sanctions.

We Won a Fight Against CalPERS Over Its Plan to Ignore Private Equity Risk

A Los Angeles Times headline recapping a board meeting Monday says it all: “CalPERS shelves controversial private equity policy.”

Partial Tally of Hidden Private Equity Fees: 6% of Equity Invested

A new study on private equity’s hidden charges is sure to fuel demands for more transparency.

Our Bloomberg Op-Ed on CalPERS’ Plan to Get Rid of Private Equity Risk by Ignoring It

CalPERS’ plan to eliminate the measurement of private equity risk, a seismic change, is a case study in how staff manipulates the board to its own advantage.