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Net inflows to St. James's Place Wealth Management more than halve as business review outcomes loom. Net inflows to St James’s Place more than halved in the first quarter of the year, as investors pulled a combined £360m from the wealth manager’s investments, ISA and DFM products. Mark FitzPatrick. Check out Valeria Martinez’s latest article 👇 https://incm.pub/3wd62GM #investing #assetmanagement #wealthmanagement #finance

Financial Fire Sale: The Murky Secondary Market for Private Equity Stakes This is kind of wild... Last year, Hamilton Lane Private Assets Fund recorded 𝘢 39% 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 for $52 MM. Of the three dozen investments it bought on Sept. 29, nearly half had more than doubled in value on Sept. 30. The Hamilton Lane fund’s stake in a fund that focuses on Latin America 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 24 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴. How/why was Hamilton Lane able to achieve such stratospheric immediate gains? In short, by adopting the valuation provided by the seller rather than valuing the investment based on the price 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥. Generally speaking, investors holding stakes in private-equity and other funds are allowed to estimate their fair value by relying on what the funds’ managers say they are worth (their net asset value). What explains the huge disparity between the apparent value and the price paid? Fundamentally, the only reason why someone would sell an investment at a massive discount to the actual value is they are being forced to. In other words, the huge overnight gains some secondary investors are registering derive from fire sale conditions. Investors had better hope this is the case, because the secondary market for investments in private equity funds is not only obscure and illiquid - it's gigantic. The fund industry managed about $13 trillion of private-markets assets this past year, and secondary market volume for private-equity and similar funds in 2023 was $112 BN. Some entities have massive exposure to this asset class/pricing dynamic. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System in 2023 classified about $168 BN of its $494 billion of investments using the NAV category, including $60 BN of private-equity holdings. Harvard used the NAV classification for about $51 BN of its $59 BN of investments (~86%!), including $22 BN of private-equity holdings. To that point, one last thought: For every apparently savvy secondary vulture there must be an equally desperate seller. To what extent are investors in the 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴' funds aware that they are about to take a financial broadside - or effectively already have? Read Jonathan Weil's great piece in the The Wall Street Journal: https://lnkd.in/exZupCMM #investing #privateequity #secondaries #stocks #bonds #calpers #harvard

COMING SOON - Friday 14th June: In the Company of Mavericks Ep 39 - Adam Rackley, Cape Wrath Capital According to Morningstar, only one of 72 smaller company funds outperformed the UK small-cap index last year. That was Cape Wrath Capital and back in March, Jeremy McKeown was joined by David De Sousa Seaman of Alpha Cygni Asset Management for a conversation with its founder and fund manager, Adam Rackley. "Adam epitomises the philosophy of doing things differently when it comes to investing in UK equities. He has pursued his unique approach since founding Cape Wrath in 2016 using what he describes as a behavioural value strategy. He looks to identify market capitulation events and narrative shifts to cycle capital into shares when they are driven by emotion more than rationality. He then looks to exit positions when narrative shifts lead to equity revaluations to his appraised fair value." Listen to the trailer now and tune back for the full episode on Friday to hear about the 'Rules of Wrath' and Adam's somewhat unconventional strategy for investing in UK equities: https://lnkd.in/ejnJSHB5 #AIM #LSE #stockmarkets #investing #investments #equities #stocks #shares

✍ Dropping another new TMJ Blog ✍ Last week saw the surprising return to the spotlight of controversial former Fund Manager Neil Woodford, as he launched his new website and blog, Woodford Views. Woodford became infamous when his Equity Income Fund was forced to close in 2019, causing huge financial distress for thousands of retail investors. So why is he launching himself back into the public sphere now? TMJ gives you the lowdown... 💹 #woodfordviews #retailinvestors #fundmanagement #moneyblog #personalfinance

Did you know that financial advisers under St. James's Place are restricted, limiting their access to invest your money in the whole market? Recently, they have been in the press for their high fees in comparison to their performance. We've helped numerous clients transition from St. James's Place, often saving them from exit fees. If your investments are currently with St. James's Place, reach out to book a complimentary meeting with James Taylor DipPFS to review your position. #wealth #money #stjamessplace #sjp

I often find myself reminiscing about the development of the high-yield corporate bond market, but I’m also old enough to remember the meltdowns. The Savings and Loan scandal in the 1980s, the Dot Com bubble at the turn of the century, and the financial crisis of 2008 were all challenging times. If we also throw in the bankruptcy of Drexel Burnham in 1989, that covers most of the low points of the high-yield #bondmarket.  At the time, many #investors seemed to think the good times would last forever, ploughing huge amounts of money across the broader #highyield bond market with limited focus on fundamentals. At Gimme Credit, we appreciate company fundamentals and finances. We use these to create our own credit scores for the next six months and financial forecasts for up to two years. These form the basis for our renowned #research and #datasheets.

Lots of advisers know Elston through our work in large caps. But we’re also in small caps. If you’re not familiar with the strategy, have a read through this quarter’s report, put together by portfolio managers Justin Woerner and Gary Merkel, CFA. The latest report is available via this link: https://bit.ly/3YgZm3K #smallcaps #investing #assetmanagement

It’s not everyday you get a chance to be up close and personal with a Fund Manager. Check out this upcoming webinar with St. James’s Place’s Darren Johnson and Aristotle’s Jim Henderson. #sjpwebinars

Mattioli Woods a core holding in both the Whitman UK Small Cap Growth Fund and Whitman AIM IHT service, has this morning confirmed a 804p cash offer, representing a 34% premium to the closing price of 600p per share (source: London Stock Exchange, 8 March 2024). Mattioli Woods is a leading player in the UK asset and wealth management market, which is currently undergoing considerable consolidation, principally funded by private equity. The acquisition price represents an opportunistic multiple in our view and further highlights the attractiveness of UK small caps. We continue to see considerable value across the portfolio, when comparing to historic multiples, private equity transactions and internationally listed peers.