The Motley Fool

JULY 31, 2024

After years of struggle, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) seems to have found its place in the tech industry. As the company settles on becoming a leader in voice recognition software, it has won contracts from various companies and an investment from AI chip leader Nvidia. Despite those successes, SoundHound faces ongoing losses and significant difficulties on the financial side of the business.

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Shareholders Returns Investors Portfolios 246

American Investment Council

JULY 18, 2024

Maloney : “Strong private equity returns ensure that tens of millions of dedicated public servants can depend on a well-funded pension to support their well-deserved retirement.” Washington, D.C. – Today, the American Investment Council released its 2024 public pension study showing that private equity once again delivered the strongest returns for public pension portfolios.

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Returns Pension Funds Consulting Assets 140

A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 21, 2024

Hendrik Bessimbinder has produced some of my favorite stock market research. Bessimbinder discovered that four out of every seven stocks in the U.S. have underperformed cash (one-month T-bills) since 1926. And just 4% of companies accounted for all the wealth gains for the entire stock market in that time. The stock market runs on power laws over the long run.

Stock Market 142

Stock Market Stock Market Accounting Companies 142

The Big Picture

JULY 7, 2024

@TBPInvictus here If you’re tired of California-minimum-wage-and-its-impact-on-limited-service-restaurant-employment stories, I understand. Leave this page immediately. I’m tired of it, too, but some stories are so factually challenged that they demand a response. So, allow me to address a hot mess of a story that appeared recently in the California Globe.

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FinSMEs

JULY 10, 2024

Hayden AI Technologies, Inc., a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in vision AI solutions for smart cities, raised $90M in Series C funding. The round was led by The Rise Fund, with participation from Drawdown Fund and Autotech Ventures, among others. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its research, development and […] The post Hayden AI Raises $90M in Series C Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

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Funds Companies 124

Top 1000 Funds

JULY 28, 2024

The Thinking Ahead Institute collaborated with the Future Fund and 25 other asset owners in an in-depth exploration of asset owner practices, the TAI Asset Owner Peer Study. These asset owners were carefully chosen for their robust governance, substantial size, and global perspectives.

Assets 111

Assets Funds 111

Mr. Money Mustache

JULY 23, 2024

– “I used to read Mr. Money Mustache” , some people say these days, “Until he got all rich and fancy so that he no longer understands the common person’s plight. Stash probably doesn’t even practice any of these money-saving things he preaches any more!” When I read things like this, I can’t help but laugh. Because on the one hand, when you put a bunch of personal life details online like this, being misunderstood is just part of the package.

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Depreciation Education Finance Financing 105

A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 14, 2024

Here’s a scenario I was presented with recently: Five years ago, a relatively conservative investor was sitting on some cash and seeking a more balanced portfolio. To keep things simple, this investor split the difference between stocks and bonds by allocating 50% to equities and 50% to fixed income. Five years later there is a clear winner in terms of performance within this 50/50 portfolio: You basically doubled.

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Portfolios Investors 130

Private Equity Wire

JULY 23, 2024

Blackstone’s inaugural private equity fund targeting Japanese individual investors has raised $1.2bn just four months after launch, on the back of increasing interest in alternative assets in the country, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites data from the Japan Securities Dealers Association as showing that the dollar-denominated Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Investment Trust achieved the milestone by the end of June.

Funds 105

Funds Financial Institutions Assets Investors 105

FinSMEs

JULY 31, 2024

Ema, a San Francisco, CA-based generative AI company creating the universal employee of the future, added $36M to its Series A funding which now totals $50M. The round was led by Accel and Section 32 with participation from Prosus Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Wipro Ventures, SCB 10X, Colle Capital and Frontier Ventures. The company, which has […] The post Ema Adds $36M to Series A Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

Funds 116

Funds Capital Companies 116

Top 1000 Funds

JULY 1, 2024

As AIMCo prepares to beef up its private credit team in New York, CIO Marlene Puffer explains how she plans to scale the allocation, as well as describing a new total portfolio approach to private markets, and the investor's new approach to risk management

Portfolios 105

Portfolios Investors Assets Investing 105

The Motley Fool

JULY 31, 2024

Arguably no trend has been hotter on Wall Street over the last year and change than artificial intelligence (AI). Put simply, AI allows software and systems to oversee tasks that would normally be assigned to humans. The game-changing growth potential AI brings to the table has everything to do with software and systems being able to learn without human intervention.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 246

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Portfolios Initial Public Offering Investing 246

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors

JULY 30, 2024

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors recently had the honor of being selected for the USA Today/Statista “Best Financial Advisory Firms in the US” as the #18 best firm nationally and #1 in Wisconsin.

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 7, 2024

I’ve been writing about the housing market for years now. It fascinates me to no end because housing is one of the most important decisions from a personal and financial perspective. In recent years, much of my focus has been on how broken the residential housing market is. Higher prices and mortgage rates have driven housing affordability to levels we’ve never seen before in the United States.

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Private Equity Wire

JULY 19, 2024

Private credit and secondaries investment firm Star Mountain Capital has appointed James Camarda as Managing Director in its Tampa, Florida office. In his new role, Camarda will work with investors on portfolio optimisation investments and potential liquidity needs through the firm’s secondaries business. Camarda has previously advised financial advisors, family offices, foundations, endowments and individuals on alternative investments, particularly regarding portfolio construction.

Capital 105

Capital Banks Investment Firms Portfolios 105

FinSMEs

JULY 24, 2024

Promptfoo, a San Francisco, CA-based open-source LLM testing company, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Tobi Lutke (CEO, Shopify), Stanislav Vishnevskiy (CTO, Discord), Frederic Kerrest (Vice-Chairman & Co-Founder, Okta), and many other top executives in the technology, security, and financial industries.

Funds 117

Funds Companies 117

AltAssets

JULY 30, 2024

Healthcare investor Amulet Capital has raised about $1.2bn for the final close of its third fund - almost double the total it collected for its predecessor vehicle. The post Amulet Capital almost doubles fund size again with $1.2bn Fund III final close first appeared on AltAssets Private Equity News.

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Capital Funds Investors Buyout 98

The Motley Fool

JULY 31, 2024

The Russell 2000 features approximately 2,000 of America's smallest listed companies. At Tuesday's close, the index has surged by a whopping 10.3% since July 1, crushing the widely followed S&P 500 , which is trading flat since then. Investors are predicting the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates three times before the end of 2024 thanks to favorable inflation and unemployment data.

Assets 246

Assets Portfolios Returns Debt 246

Financial Times - Banking

JULY 15, 2024

US investment bank’s results were also helped by stronger performance from its equities and fixed income businesses

Investing 109

Investing 109

A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 26, 2024

There’s an old saying that people don’t attend church on Sundays expecting to hear an eleventh commandment. You go to reinforce what you’ve already learned or learn it all over again. And so it is with the basic principles of finance. Jason Zweig once wrote the following: My job is to write the exact same thing between 50 and 100 times a year in such a way that neither my editors nor my readers will ever.

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Finance Financing 121

Private Equity Wire

JULY 31, 2024

Johannesburg-based Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management raised £15m (ZAR350m) in Q2 2024 for its flagship private credit fund, Westbrooke Yield Plus, according to a report by FAnews. The private credit fund also removed initial lock-in periods during Q2. The report quotes Dino Zuccollo, head of investor solutions at Westbrooke: “Westbrooke Yield Plus now boasts a six-year track record of performance and has never had a down month.

Funds 98

Funds Asset Management Assets Capital 98

FinSMEs

JULY 24, 2024

Vijil, a Menlo Park, CA-based company delivering AI agents to enterprises, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by AIStart seed fund and Gradient Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach. Led by CEO Vin Sharma, Vijil is helping enterprises build and operate AI agents […] The post Vijil Raises $6M in Seed Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

Funds 117

Funds Companies 117

AltAssets

JULY 26, 2024

KKR has agreed the $4.8bn buyout of edtech business Instructure. AltAssets reported earlier this month that KKR and Francisco Partners were battling each other in a bid to acquire the Thoma Bravo-backed business, which was then valued at about $3.4bn. KKR will pay $23.60 per share, a 16% premium over Instructure share price on May 17, […] The post Deal Roundup: KKR seals $4.8bn Instructure buy, Advent to sell Evri to Apollo in £2.7bn deal first appeared on AltAssets Private Equity News.

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Buyout Bidding Investing 98

The Motley Fool

JULY 31, 2024

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are still up big on the year. But a pullback in mega-cap growth stocks, including the "Magnificent Seven, " has sent the major indexes down. Tesla is in the negative year to date, while Nvidia is down over 10% in the last month. Despite the sell-off in these popular names, there could be even better stocks out there to buy now.

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Prospects Taxes Debt Capital Investments 246

Financial Times M&A

JULY 17, 2024

Group behind CNN and HBO has discussed options including spin-off of its streaming service and movie studio

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 12, 2024

Charley Ellis wrote a great book about the index fund revolution back in 2016. One of my favorite parts of the book is where Ellis looks at how Wall Street has changed in the past 50 years: MBAs were uncommon. PhDs were never seen. Commissions still averaged 40 cents a share. All trading was paper based. Messengers with huge black boxes on wheels, filled with stock and bond certificates, scurried from broker to broker tr.

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Stock Market Stock Market Funds 120

Private Equity Wire

JULY 29, 2024

Private equity major Apollo Global Management has made a significant investment of $700m in Sony Music Group, providing its clients with another opportunity to access “high-grade” alternative assets, according to a report by Reuters. Apollo did not disclose the specific terms of the deal with Sony, which represents artists such as Lil Nas X and Celine Dion.

Investing 98

Investing Assets Investment Firms Investors 98

FinSMEs

JULY 16, 2024

Singapore, Singapore, 16th July 2024, Chainwire The post PEXX Raises $4.5 Million in Seed Funding for its Innovative Stablecoin-to-Fiat Payment Platform appeared first on FinSMEs.

Funds 116

Funds Capital 116

AltAssets

JULY 26, 2024

Agellus Capital, a lower-mid-market PE firm launched this year by former senior execs from Audax and Thompson Street Capital Partners, has closed its debut fund on its $400m hard cap. The post Ex-Audax, Thompson Street Capital senior execs seal $400m for debut Agellus Capital fundraise first appeared on AltAssets Private Equity News.

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Capital Funds Buyout Investing 98

The Motley Fool

JULY 31, 2024

Image source: Getty Images As a bespectacled American, I have spent many, many hours of my life in optical centers and ordering glasses and contacts. There's not really anything fun about it. But as it turns out, Costco has its own optical center, which I literally did not realize until I started researching this article. The good news is that these optical centers have a lot of perks that many Costco members have no idea about.

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Companies Financing Finance 246

Financial Times M&A

JULY 18, 2024

Facebook owner considers multibillion investment in European eyewear group to expand smart glasses partnership

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Stakes Investing 110

A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 16, 2024

There aren’t all that many millionaires in the world. People with wealth in excess of $1 million make up just 1.5% of the world’s population. Yet this group controls nearly half of the world’s wealth (around $214 trillion in total). There are even fewer billionaires — a little less than 2,700 worldwide or a number that rounds down to 0% of the global population.

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Financing Finance 118

Private Equity Wire

JULY 30, 2024

Some 80% of private high-net-worth UK investors plan to allocate to private equity and other alternative asset classes over the next 12 months, according to a survey by Connection Capital, a London-based private markets and alternative investment platform. A third of those surveyed feel more confident about investing in both public and private UK companies compared to a year ago, with “value for money in UK equity markets” being the most popular reason.

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FinSMEs

JULY 17, 2024

aiXplain, a San Jose, CA-based provider of essential infrastructure for accelerated AI development, raised $6.5M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $16.5M, was led by Wa’ed Ventures. Osama Elkady and Kane Minkus also participated. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts. Led […] The post aiXplain Raises $6.5M in Pre-Series A Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

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Funds Companies 117