Stephen Madsen

Adam Gregory Goern of milk road offered a nice turn of phrase on the need to pivot our thinking from #SupplyChain to #DemandChain. An egocentric West is bat-shit paranoid that China will do to us what we are doing to them, namely cutting them off from products they demand. Hence we have the contemporary supply-chain derisking insanity. Actually, what drives any business to success is demand. Attached is a chart showing the consumption demand growth rates (CAGR) for copper consumed in China, versus copper consumed in the USA. Western egomania has identified #CriticalMinerals as a #SupplyRisk. The truth is the total reverse. Western demand is so goddamn weak, nobody can justify the investment. China has a huge internal market, which is why their government can easily subsidize the start-up of new industries. Despite all the headlines, they no longer subsidize the EV industry. That is over. It is now huge. If the collective West does not soon wake up to itself we are going to totally destroy our ability to compete because we failed to appreciate the singular importance of knowing who your *real* buyers are, and where they reside. Then you have to learn how to reach them. The USA, with semiconductors, has shafted the biggest global *buyer* of them and persuaded that buyer, namely China, to *systematically* follow the path of eliminating ANY and ALL US technology from its key systems. China is, in my view, the only nation with the human and scientific capital to achieve #autarky, even though that is not likely their preferred option. If they do, our dominance is completely over. Finished. Kaput. Dead as the proverbial Dodo. Adam's insight on #DemandChains is as simple as it is profound :-)

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As private markets welcome more investors to the space, the how becomes as important as the why. iCapital Chairman & CEO Lawrence Calcano came on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to break down the how and the why. How can investors gain access to private markets in ways that work for them? How can alternative asset managers better serve those investors? How can this all be done in a responsible, thoughtful way that sets up both investors and private markets for success in the long-term? What is the evolution of the different service models that enable GPs to unlock access to private markets for more LPs? Lawrence Calcano and I discussed these topics and more on the show. Thanks Lawrence for coming on the show to share your thoughtful perspectives on the industry and its continued evolution. Thanks to Ultimus Fund Solutions for sponsoring this episode of the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. https://lnkd.in/eX7njq8b

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😃 Want to learn more about have to navigate #privateequity landscapes as an #executive? Click to read this article by Gerald O'Dwyer, 'The PE Guru,' now! https://buff.ly/4b4e1Fj   💡To Learn More about BlackmorePartners at: https://buff.ly/42iNmB3

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PE - Hedge Funds Hit by Lack of PE Exits (and one way that PE firms can boost exits) Financial Times: https://lnkd.in/edACss_X FYI - one way to get more PE exits is for the PE fund to have a domain expertise GTM and have deep knowledge on how to increase the Revenue Growth of portfolio companies which boosts cash, profits and margins. --- #pe #privateequity #business

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On the latest iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream Monthly Alts Pulse, iCapital Chairman & CEO Lawrence Calcano and I welcome a special guest - Hightower Advisors Managing Director, Head of Alternative Investments Robert Picard - to discuss the operational challenges and solutions in private markets. In this episode, Lawrence, Robert, and I discuss: * How wealth platforms like Hightower and infrastructure operating systems like iCapital are creating straight-through-processing solutions across the lifecycle of a private markets investment for the wealth channel. * The importance of bringing alts directly to the advisor’s desktop. * Why improving the experience for advisors in private markets is critical to increasing adoption. * Why it’s important to build across the continuum of needs for different types of high-net-worth investors. * The importance of customization and differentiation with private markets solutions for advisors. * What is the biggest unlock to enabling greater flows of capital into private markets? * What are the implications of opening up the alts superhighway? Thanks Robert for joining us on the show for a fantastic discussion!

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A super interesting quick read on the state of the PE market……..’grey clouds not lifting yet!’

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The upgrade reflects Fitch's increased confidence that Signet will sustain EBITDAR leverage below 4.0x over the medium term, with proforma EBITDAR leverage as of April 2024 around 3.5x. Although there could be some continued topline moderation in the near-term given a pullback in discretionary products spending, Fitch's operating projections, alongside management's evolving financial policy favoring debt reduction support expectations that Signet will sustain EBITDAR leverage below 4.0x.

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Listen to David B. Golub on the latest Fiftyfaces podcast with Aoifinn Devitt, where he speaks about how Golub Capital has built its competitive advantages over the last 30 years and the importance of culture to the Firm’s continued success: https://okt.to/JiTvQr #privatecredit #leadership #podcast

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Compliance tech is powerful. This one seems to me to be even more powerful. The notion of creating compliance agents (and more generally, supporting agents) is one that will become more and more familiar to everybody. Edoardo Ginevra Aurelio Maccario Fabio De Ferrari Luciana Rovelli

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Cabrera Capital's Global Equity Team had an exceptional performance in May 2024: 52% year-over-year increase in orders 170% surge in traded quantity 44% rise in traded value compared to May 2023   This robust performance translated into a 29% year-over-year revenue increase, marking a significant milestone in Cabrera's global equity expansion.    

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#ObsessivelyEnthusiasticInvestor #UnreasonablyEnthusiasticInvestor #IrrationallyEnthusiasticInvestor at REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund in Benchmark Labs Inc. We look for the people we believe are doing the best work in Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology; Attempting the impossible. Then we go all-in on them. With obsessive and unreasonable enthusiasm. Join us. #IndustrialTransformation #SupplyChain #Innovation #Technology #Startups #VentureCapital #DemandTheImpossible #UnreasonableEnthusiasm #ObsessiveEnthusiasm #IrrationalEnthusiasm

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Here it is again, your weekly one minute summary of all the news (and deals) to know in industrial decarb. I'm very interested to see what Nat Bullard has been up to!

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Today, we mourn the loss of Jim Simons, a true legend in the world of finance. His Medallion Fund has been described as the "Greatest Money-Making Machine of All Time," delivering an unparalleled annual return of 62% from 1988 to 2018, before fees. To put this into perspective, a modest $1,000 investment in the Medallion Fund in 1988 would have astonishingly grown to over $42 million today. In contrast, the same investment in the S&P 500 would have yielded about $40,000, and in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, it would have reached around $152,000. Jim Simons was a true pioneer, whose achievements stand as a testament to his profound impact on finance. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of investors and finance professionals. #finance #investing

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With a dearth of exit opportunities the M&A window has opened up slowly in 2024 with energy leading the way globally supported by capital investment, regulatory tail-winds, and geo-political climate.

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Robert DiNozzi of Second Wind Consultants and Michael Petrecca of Rise Alliance meet with Michael A. Toglia, publisher of ABL Advisor to discuss how the two companies have united to form Rise Alliance and its unique go-to-market strategy in the distressed debt/commercial finance industry. Watch the full video interview here: https://lnkd.in/e5qZmWKN Gerard Celmer #assetbasedlending #commercialfinance #corporatefinance #distressedlending #distresseddebt #termloan #bank #banking #turnaroundmanagement #privatedebt #privateequity #privatecredit #finance #lending #bankruptcy

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That feeling when you watch the macro forces that undergird your Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology investment thesis at ⁦‪REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund unfolding every single day: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions; The Climate Crisis & Severe Weather; Consumer Behavior & Demographics. At most venture capital firms, Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology is a tiny, emerging “area of interest” . . . At REFASHIOND Ventures, it’s our entire world. Join us. #IndustrialTransformation #SupplyChain #Innovation #Technology #Startups #VentureCapital

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