Following a bumper year in 2021, private equity activity is expected to carry on the momentum through 2022. Deal volume reached record levels in 2021, measured by dollar value and deal count, according to data from PitchBook. This year may not exceed the impressive totals from 2021, but conditions appear ... READ MORE >
Financial Services
Comprising everything from private equity firms to family offices, financiers are active participants in the middle market. They provide the vital capital infusions needed to take growth companies to the next level.
Why ESG matters to family offices
The rise of environmental, social and governance, known as ESG, has many family offices considering its relevancy to their purpose and operation—but likely for different reasons than other investors in the private market. While asset managers and private equity firms may feel pressure over ESG policy ... READ MORE >
How process intelligence can make insurers more efficient
Insurance companies have seen the shift to online self-service go mainstream over the last year and a half, and are now at a point where they must pivot if they want to meet the evolving demands of today’s customers. In order to do so, it is paramount that insurers harness technologies that will enable ... READ MORE >
What investors must know about opportunity zones before 2022 and beyond
There isn’t much time left for real estate investors to take advantage of one of the biggest perks of opportunity zones. Opportunity zones—a program started under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017—are economically distressed areas where the government hoped to create jobs and increase spending through ... READ MORE >
Despite Zillow’s retreat, iBuyers show promise
Zillow’s decision to pull the plug on Zillow Offers, its tech-powered business of buying and selling homes, came as a surprise amid the still-hot housing market and prompted a question: Is the business model flawed? As the third-quarter earnings reports from two of Zillow's competitors showed, it's too ... READ MORE >
In booming year, venture capital shows no signs of slowing
The venture capital ecosystem is stronger than ever and shows no signs of slowing down, data through the third quarter of the year shows. As of Sept. 30, global VC funding for the year was at $437.7 billion, 158% higher than 2020’s calendar total, per CB Insights. In the United States alone, $82.8 ... READ MORE >
Already hot ‘buy now, pay later’ space gets a big boost from Amazon
Amazon, which has been slowly adding financial services products to its portfolio, has entered the hot “buy now, pay later” space. Last Friday, the e-commerce giant announced its partnership with Affirm, a buy-now-pay-later platform that allows customers to pay for purchases in installments. This ... READ MORE >
Booming first half for private equity activity sets stage for a record year in 2021
At the current run rate, private equity deal activity is on pace for its best year on record. With $457 billion worth of deal activity recorded over the first half of the year, according to data from PitchBook, the cumulative activity midway through the year is the strongest it has ever been in terms of ... READ MORE >
Executive order targeting banking M&A expected to bring more scrutiny
An executive order signed by President Biden in early July is expected to bring more scrutiny of banking mergers, a significant development given that the number of deal announcements continues to gain steam heading into the second half of the year. The order encourages the Department of Justice, the ... READ MORE >
How an ESOP can preserve a business, and a legacy
After more than a year of whipsaw change brought on by the pandemic, many business owners have decided to retire. A recent survey of business owners conducted by the Wilmington Trust found that the pandemic is behind this rush to retire, adding another unexpected wrinkle to a devastating year. But ... READ MORE >