Cashless payments are rapidly becoming the norm as the spread of the coronavirus has forced consumers and businesses to change their ways. … READ MORE >
Financial services
Businesses already strained by COVID-19 should prepare for hurricane season
Forecasters predict a 70% chance that this hurricane season will be worse than normal. For businesses already stretched thin by the coronavirus pandemic, the grim forecast comes at a perilous time. Sectors such as insurance, real estate, hospitality and health care are particularly vulnerable. … READ MORE >
Global M&A remains soft, but that could change as elections approach
Global mergers and acquisitions have had a slower start to 2020 compared to other years as companies continue to work through business challenges resulting from the coronavirus. But that could change as the November elections approach. … READ MORE >
Once derided, special purpose acquisition companies go mainstream amid turbulent markets
For an increasing number of firms, the special purpose acquisition company has become a favored way to go public. SPACs are on pace for a record year of fundraising and have helped to sustain the initial public offering market even during the COVID-19 pandemic. … READ MORE >
The case for active investing has grown stronger recently, but can it last?
For much of the past decade, equity markets enjoyed a bull market that was accompanied by the rise in popularity and the outperformance of passive investment strategies. Then the coronavirus hit. As markets plunged in March, the case for actively managed investments grew stronger as those funds performed better than passively managed funds … READ MORE >
401(k) plans can now offer investments in private equity, but should they?
Private equity firms have been searching for a way to tap into the vast pools of capital available in 401(k) plans – something that could offer plan participants more options for investing while setting up guardrails that would provide some measure of protection. Now they have a way. … READ MORE >
What registered investment advisers can expect from the SEC in a changed economy
Even as the coronavirus disrupts many conventions and traditions of the financial services industry, one regulatory ritual has continued, albeit in digital form: the Securities and Exchange Commission’s compliance examinations with registered investment advisers. … READ MORE >
As private equity firms hold onto investments, investors get restless
The coronavirus hasn’t slowed interest by private equity firms in putting their cash to work in distressed firms. But as that cash stockpile has increased, threats of the coronavirus have continued to mount, creating uncertainty and leaving private equity firms in a holding pattern. … READ MORE >
The future of work: Five predictions for private equity firms
As businesses around the world consider how they return to work amid the coronavirus pandemic, private equity professionals are already making plans for widespread changes to their workforce. … READ MORE >
Main Street Lending Program should be attractive to eligible family offices
As steady flows of management fees and profits interest start to attenuate, liquidity becomes more important to prevent the family office’s operations from slipping. As the economy slows and uncertainties linger, family offices that provide investment management services need to move beyond the Paycheck Protection Program and focus on the new Main Street Lending Program. … READ MORE >