The Motley Fool

JULY 25, 2024

Image source: Getty Images Credit card rewards can be a fun way to earn something of value back on your regular purchases. And if you get good at using rewards cards, they can also save you a lot of money. Some people earn $500 to $1,000 or more in rewards every year. After you've earned rewards, you'll need to choose how to redeem them. While I love using rewards cards, I never redeem my earnings for cash back.

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Banks Accounting 246

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.

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Stock Market Stock Market Accounting Companies 137

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.

Returns 133

Returns Pension Funds Consultants Consulting 133

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 23, 2024

Mytra, a San Francisco, CA-based three-dimensional robotics company, raised $78M in funding. Backers included Albertsons Companies. Mytra is also backed by investors, including Greenoaks, who led the company’s Series B, Eclipse, who led the previous seed and Series A rounds, in addition to Co-founder and Chairman of Okta Frederic Kerrest’s 515 Ventures, and individual investors, […] The post Mytra Raises $78M in Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

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Funds Companies Investors 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 Financing Finance 99

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 124

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 103

Capital Banks Investment Firms Portfolios 103

Indigo Marketing Agency

JULY 23, 2024

If I went to your website right now, would it pass the 5-second test? Would I be able to immediately discern: Who you are? What you do? Who you do it for? And most importantly—why someone should choose you? Then, would I know what they should do next after visiting ? When envisioning your firm’s next website, it’s easy to articulate its purpose and desired ambiance.

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Prospects Consultants Consulting Education 98

FinSMEs

JULY 24, 2024

Didero, a NYC-based AI procurement agent startup, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by First Round Capital, with participation from Construct Capital, AI Grant, Box Group, Company Ventures, and Conviction. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts. Led by Tim Spencer, Tom Petit, and Lorenz Pallhuber, Didero […] The post Didero Raises $7M in Seed Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

Funds 107

Funds Startups Capital Companies 107

Top 1000 Funds

JULY 17, 2024

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) recently reduced the allocation to equity in its $92.5 billion portfolio in what Pedro Guazo, representative of the secretary-general (RSG) for the investment of the UNJSPF assets, describes as a conservative strategic allocation in response to the overvaluation in tech.

Pension Funds 98

Pension Funds Funds Assets Portfolios 98

The Motley Fool

JULY 25, 2024

Coming a few days after a mixed earnings report from rival Verizon Communications , AT&T 's (NYSE: T) second-quarter report suffered from a similar problem. Wireless customers have been slow to upgrade their smartphones, leading to lower equipment revenue for the wireless leaders. AT&T saw equipment revenue drop 5.8% year over year in the second quarter, enough to cause the company to miss analyst expectations.

Returns 246

Returns Companies Investors Portfolios 246

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 24, 2024

Blackstone is intensifying its focus on international credit opportunities, and is aiming to grow its portfolio to include a wider range of debt, including local-currency investments, according to a report by Bloomberg quoting the company’s Global Head of Credit & Insurance, Gilles Dellaert. Speaking during an interview in Tokyo, Dellaert said: “We see substantial growth potential in Europe and Asia.

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Debt Asset Management Leveraging Financing 96

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 111

Investing 111

FinSMEs

JULY 22, 2024

Trait, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of a training app, raised €1M in Seed funding. Backers included HTGF, better ventures and others. The company intends to use the funds for the further development of its AI training platform, which aims to provide a more personalized training experience for runners. Founded by Raphael Jung and Matthias Ettrich, […] The post Trait Raises €1M in Seed Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

Funds 111

Funds Companies 111

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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The Motley Fool

JULY 25, 2024

I'm sure most avid basketball fans can remember when "AI" was used to describe NBA great Allen Iverson. Nowadays, when you hear AI, the first thing many people think about is artificial intelligence (AI). It makes sense, too, when you consider just how prominent AI-related news has been over the past couple of years. AI has been around for a while, but recent developments and the success of generative AI applications like ChatGPT have brought it to the forefront of many businesses.

Returns 245

Returns Portfolios Stock Market Stock Market 245

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.

Financing 112

Financing Finance 112

Private Equity Wire

JULY 25, 2024

Agellus Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on B2B, non-discretionary consumer, supply chain and infrastructure services, has closed its debut fund, Agellus Capital Private Equity Fund I, with total limited partner capital commitments of $400m. The fund was oversubscribed and surpassed its $350m target. It received commitments from endowments and foundations, global financial institutions, insurance companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, as well as founders, ex

Private Equity Firms 94

Private Equity Firms Private Equity Firms Financial Institutions Funds 94

The Big Picture

JULY 11, 2024

@TBPInvictus here: The most recent Employment Situation Summary a/k/a “jobs report” a/k/a NFP showed a healthy gain in jobs, albeit with some meaningful downward revisions to prior months. It also showed an unemployment rate of a still-low 4.1%. That rate is calculated by taking the unemployment level (Numerator) and dividing it by the labor force (Denominator).

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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 120

Financial Times M&A

JULY 18, 2024

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

Stakes 107

Stakes Investing 107

The Motley Fool

JULY 25, 2024

Shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) were falling after the wireless company reported mixed second-quarter earnings results. Its stock remains up more than 20% over the past year, but it is now up only modestly year to date, underperforming the strong year-to-date performance of the S&P 500. Let's take a closer look at Verizon's most recent results, its valuation and dividend, and whether now is a good time to buy the stock on this recent dip.

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Earnings Before Interest Amortization Depreciation Debt 245

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.

Stock Market 114

Stock Market Stock Market Funds 114

Private Equity Wire

JULY 23, 2024

Los Angeles-based global private investment firm Atar Capital has sold its portfolio company, Microcel, a distributor of lifestyle products in Canada, to Canadian distribution company TDL Gentek. The transaction closed on 17 July. Microcel was founded in 1989 in Newmarket, Ontario. Its products include wearables, portable audio, medi-tech, as well as smart home, kitchen and outdoor solutions, while its customer base includes Google, fitbit, Starlink, Anker, Beurer, Blendjet and Polaroid.

Capital 97

Capital Financing Finance Investment Firms 97

The Big Picture

JULY 9, 2024

A quick break from book duty and doing our quarterly client call to share this fascinating discussion from tennis great Roger Federer: “In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches… What percentage of the POINTS do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%.” -Roger Federer This is one of those great commencement addresses that will only gain stature over time.

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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 113

Funds Capital 113

Financial Times M&A

JULY 23, 2024

FTSE 100 consumer group’s Mead Johnson unit hit by US litigation over baby formula death

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Shareholders 103

The Motley Fool

JULY 25, 2024

Spotify 's (NYSE: SPOT) recent second-quarter earnings release was music to the ears of many investors. The streaming service convincingly beat the average bottom-line estimate while delivering robust growth where it counted. In the wake of that release, several analysts raised their price targets on the high-profile music streamer. One even went so far as to upgrade his recommendation on its stock.

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Shareholders Capital Returns Companies 243

A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 5, 2024

My personal finance pipedream for America is that we adopt something like Australia’s retirement system where workers are forced to save a certain percentage of their income for retirement. That pipedream will never happen because Americans hate being forced to do anything. You need to make people think that saving for retirement is their idea.

Investing 110

Investing Financing Finance 110

Private Equity Wire

JULY 23, 2024

An affiliate of $64bn global alternative investment firm HIG Capital has acquired Naturalia Tantum, a company operating in the Italian organic beauty & personal care sector. HIG’s investment is in partnership with the company’s current management team. Based in Milan, Naturalia Tantum develops, produces and distributes organic personal care products, as well as natural food supplements and products for home and pet care.

Capital 97

Capital Stakes Investment Firms Companies 97

The Big Picture

JULY 4, 2024

Publishing note: This originally was posted on July 4, 2019. I am always intrigued by the psychological and cognitive issues hidden in the news. The Nike Betsy Ross flag issue revealed a number of fascinating things. Stop to consider the broader context and historical nuance of the American flag as a protest and/or fashion item, and we learn a thing or two.

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Legal 111

FinSMEs

JULY 24, 2024

Splight, a San Francisco, CA-based AI startup which specializes in grid operations technologies, raised $12M in Seed funding. The round was led by noa (formerly A/O) and joined by EDP Ventures, Elewit, Draper Cygnus, Draper B1, Ascent Energy Ventures, Fen Ventures, Reaction Global, Barn Investments, and the UC Berkeley Foundation, among others. The company intends […] The post Splight Raises $12M in Seed Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

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Funds Startups Companies Investing 104