8 stories we are following at Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast this am.
1. The markets surged yesterday and look set to surge today. It’s a constant reminder to not try to time the markets. History shows that missing a very small number of big up days seriously hurts your long term returns.
2. President Trump eases up on Chairman Powell.
See Yahoo Finance
“Trump told reporters from the Oval Office on Tuesday that he “never did” intend to remove Powell, though he reiterated his desire for the Fed chair to reduce interest rates. “I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,” the president said.
Trump’s comments marked a clear softening in tone toward Powell, offering relief to investors who had feared a growing rift between the two could add to uncertainty in a market already shaken by tariffs.”
3. Intel Corporation to cut 20% of employees.
“Intel Corp. (INTC) is poised to announce plans this week to cut more than 20% of its staff, aiming to eliminate bureaucracy at the struggling chipmaker, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.” Bloomberg.
4. Musk announces plans to spend more time at Tesla and less time at DOGE.
5. RH jumped 10% yesterday and is set to jump further today.
6. I largely don’t invest in individual stocks. Two I do have positions in are Astera Labs down 58% YTD and Palantir Technologies up 24.5% YTD.
7. We just ran an X/Twitter poll where we asked where should investors put their equity investments. We provided 4 choices — index funds, individual stocks, PE funds and private companies.
The quite unofficial survey showed 57% index funds, 20% individual stocks, 12% PE funds and 11% private companies.
Some of the replies were profane. Others were great.
“I don’t understand this investments you speak of, my rent, car payments and insurance await 100% of all my salary each month”. Kerry.
“The vast majority of people should focus on index funds. If you have a particular edge/insight into a particular industry, individual stocks are fine – either public or private. Private equity funds generally tend to be better for the managers (there are exceptions, of course).” David Fink, CFA.
“Individual stock picking is too risky and requires a lot of time and effort. Better risk/reward is to own the whole market”. Maia.
There were also a few comments re gold and Bitcoin.
8. 6 upcoming speeches
1. Webinar May 7. 25 key mantras, thoughts and concepts. Thank you to Elizabeth Hutson for sending comments.
2. Keynote talk Advancement League YHLS Atlanta May 13.
3. Keynote interview McGuireWoods HCPE Conf May 14.
4. Keynote talk WTA-Wisconsin Technology Association June 5 Madison.
5. Colorado Hospital, Outpatient Facilities & Medical Office Buildings Summit June 26 Denver.
6. Next Level Exchange July 9 Chicago.
These are a mix of health care and business talks.