Bloomberg Businessweek's "Nobody Makes Money Like Apollo’s Ruthless Founder Leon Black" makes for an excellent read for students of private equity and financial history. The bio reminds us of the long list of Drexel Burnham Lambert alumni that includes the likes of Stephen Feinberg (Cerberus), Bennett Goodman (GSO), Josh Harris (Apollo), Mitch Julis (Canyon Partners), Ken Moelis (Moelis & Co.), Mark Atanasio (Crescent Capital) and so on. Maybe the definitive book on the Drexel culture and legacy has yet to be written.
In its updated World Economic Outlook published this week, the IMF cited receding risks to the global economic growth outlook following a U.S.-China trade deal. At the same time, the fund downgraded its growth forecasts for 2020 and 2021.
The IMF is not alone in its view: 62% of U.S. CEOs expect global growth to decline over the next 12 months, according to PWC’s 23rd Annual Global CEO Survey published this week. Only 27% of respondents reported being “very confident” in their prospects for revenue growth in 2020, a post-crisis low. We see a downgraded growth outlook and a move lower in rates as supportive to continued capital flows into private funds.
Not entirely unrelated, index funds are either too passive, depending on your agenda, or dangerously influential given their sheer scale and common ownership of competitors. Bloomberg Businessweek recently recapped the ongoing debate in "The Hidden Dangers of the Great Index Fund Takeover."
