All items from The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary

What Kind Of Alternative Investment Opportunities Are Available to Accredited Investors?

Editor’s Note:  The JOBS Act is perhaps the most significant change to U.S. Securities Laws in a generation.  DailyDAC, LLC launched www.accreditedinvestormarkets.com to make the universe of alternative investments understandable and accessible to the “average” accredited investor.   The second in this innovative series, About Bob Installment 2, discusses what kind of alternative investment opportunities are available to accredited investors. 
 
What Kind Of Alternative Investment Opportunities Are Available to Accredited Investors?
By: Vanessa Schoenthaler and Jonathan Friedland
The very point of being an accredited investor is that there is a whole world of alternative investment opportunities available to you that are not available to non-accredited investors.  And, if you are an accredited investor, it would be irrational for you to not at least consider including some of those alternative investments in a well-balanced, diversified investment portfolio.  However, before you can properly consider where, if at all, alternative investments fit into your portfolio, you must first understand what the world of alternative investments looks like and where to access such opportunities.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 2 days 9 hours ago

3D Making a Comeback

Do you remember attending 3D movies and being given the cardboard red and green tinted glasses when you walked into the theater?  We do.  On the rare occasion that a movie was created in 3D, it would draw great crowds.  This was and still is a true testament to the popularity of 3D. 
Staples has just released a 3D printer available directly from its website.  By the end of June, many stores will carry them as well.  What used to be an expensive, coveted item, is not available to all consumers.  Retailing around $1,000, these printers are still more expensive that a “normal” printer, but the functionality allows for printing images 5.5 x 5.5 x 5.5.  So, get to printing, we mean building your 3D structures!



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 1 week 1 day ago

Saving money by borrowing money?

Is it possible to save money in taxes by borrowing money?  Apple did it.  The company saved over $9 billion in taxes by borrowing $17 billion.  With an impeccable team of financial expert advisors, Apple is borrowing the cash it needs by issuing a record breaking $17 billion bond offering.  Additionally any interest paid on the bonds will be tax deductible, totaling more than $100 million.
Some critics express concern that this type of creative financial management raises issues of the ethics and morality of repatriating cash to avoid tax issues.  Supporters say this is smart business and a true example of the rich getting richer because of good financial decisions.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 1 week 1 day ago

Happy 10th Birthday to LinkedIn!

What a ten years it has been!  It seems that nearly everyone has a LinkedIn account.  With over 200 million members, the site has undergone major changes over the last ten years.
Click here to see it’s baby photo!



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 1 week 1 day ago

New Accredited Investor Webinar

 General Solicitation and Advertising in Private Offerings
The JOBS Act is perhaps the most significant change to U.S. Securities Laws in a generation.  This is one of several webinars being co-produced to address the rapidly changing landscape.  This webinar is produced in conjunction with West LegalEdcenter and Accredited Investor Markets.  This webinar is worth 1.0 CLE credit.
The panel will include:
Benjamin Alexander, Greenberg & Glusker (Los Angeles)
Lou Amatucci, Centarus Professional Services (Chicago)
Greg Chin, Jones Day (Silicon Valley)
Kolin Holladay, Adams and Reese LLP (Tennessee)
Vanessa J. Schoenthaler, Qashu & Schoenthaler LLP (New York)
 
Register now for Friday’s General Solicitation and Advertising in Private Offerings (May 3) at 10:00AM CDT.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 2 weeks 4 days ago

Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors Presents: 29th Annual Bankruptcy and Restructuring Conference

June 5-8, 2013 – The Westin Chicago River North
Editors’ Note:  Every now and then we like to highlight an upcoming conference that we think will be of interest to our readers.   To be clear, we are not paid by conference providers (or anyone else) to do this.  
We at DailyDAC are thrilled that AIRA selected Chicago for this year’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Conference.  The four day event will feature outstanding educational programs and opportunities to mingle with fellow members and distinguished guests.
The main conference program opens Thursday, June 6, with a presentation by Bob Wiedemer, economist and author of America’s Bubble Economy (the landmark book that predicted the downturn in the economy in 2006), Aftershock and The Aftershock Investor. Our special guest speaker for Friday’s luncheon program will be Grant Achatz, world-renowned chef and restaurateur, and winner of numerous accolades including James Beard Foundation awards for Outstanding Chef and Rising Star Chef. The keynote speaker at Thursday evening’s Annual Awards Banquet will be Lynn Osmond, president of the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
Download the Conference Schedule here.
About Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 4 weeks 6 days ago

Federal Budget Proposal Unveiled: Changes For Private Equity Taxable Profits

Yesterday, President Obama revealed his federal budget proposal.  Included in the proposal is a change to how private equity fund managers are taxed on investment profits (i.e., carried interest). Carried interest would be taxed as ordinary income, rather than at the lower capital gains rate.  This extremely controversial topic has produced emotion-laden arguments on both sides of the debate, but as Dan Primack of CNN Money notes, it will be a wonder if the proposal ever comes to fruition.
In his article, Mr. Primack “debunks” today’s carried tax arguments.  He addresses and counters the opinions expressed by Pam Hendrickson, COO of private equity firm The Riverside Co. and John Carney, writing for his CNBC blog.
For more, please click here.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 5 weeks 2 days ago

Suit Offers a Peek at the Practice of Inflating a Legal Bill

Editor’s Note:  A version of this article appeared in print in the New York edition of the New York Times with the headline: E-Mail Points To Overbilling By Law Firm.  A long discussed issue, overbilling by law firms continues to raise eyebrows.  This article, written by Peter Lattman,  reveals a controversial email chain that may point toward a law firm’s intentional overbilling. 
They were lawyers at the world’s largest law firm, trading casual e-mails about a client’s case. One made a sarcastic joke about how the bill was running way over budget. Another described a colleague’s approach to the assignment as “churn that bill, baby!”
The e-mails, which emerged in a court filing late last week, provide a window into the thorny issue of law firm billing. The documents are likely to reinforce a perception held by many corporate clients — and the public — that law firms inflate bills by performing superfluous tasks and overstaffing assignments.
For more, please click here.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 6 weeks 3 days ago

The 2013 North America Restructuring Outlook

 Editor’s Note:  AlixPartners surveyed 98 restructuring experts (including senior attorneys, investment bankers, fund managers, and other restructuring professionals) in North America from January 9-13, 2013 about their views on corporate governance, the outlook for the year ahead, and why some restructurings fail.  The following is an excerpt of the report.
Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is known for saying, “Never allow a crisis to go to waste.” Yet, boards of directors and other stakeholders may have done just that by failing to impose stricter, post-crisis corporate-governance controls for the companies they oversee, according to our annual survey of top restructuring professionals. Less than half of those surveyed said that corporate governance has improved since the recession.
Looking ahead, respondents shared several expectations for the industry in 2013, including:
62% of respondents expect the default rate to stay the same or decrease
More than half expect a higher default rate among PE portfolio companies this year than among public companies
The sectors seen as most likely to face distress in the year ahead include healthcare, retail, and energy & resources
For the full results of the survey, please click here.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 6 weeks 3 days ago

Fleming Europe Presents: 3rd Annual Asset & Fund Management Conference

Fleming Europe Presents:
3rd Annual Asset & Fund Management
May 23 – 24, 2013, Istanbul, Turkey
According to a number of various studies, Strategic Asset Allocation is the most important determinant of the total return and risk of a broadly diversified portfolio.
Its primary goal is to create an asset mix which would provide optimal balance between the expected return and risk for a long term investment horizon – speaking of decades with a typical horizon being some 30 years. Often thought of as a reference portfolio, and following the Tactical Asset Allocation, Strategic Asset Allocation would be tactically adjusted on the basis of short-term market forecasts.
In determining expected returns, volatilities and correlations for equity, bond, commodity and alternative asset classes being a complex task, there are two basic approaches to assess the assumptions on asset risk / return characteristics: one of them satisfactory, the other one not.
According to the unconditional method, the expectation that past history will repeat itself, a simple observation can be used as a reliable guide to future events. However, this method is unsatisfactory and not adapted to the SAA problem, as it determines expected returns based on historical returns, without taking any structural economic changes and shocks, which may arise, into consideration.



From The DailyDAC Blog : Deal Acquisition Central / Dealmakers' Analysis & Commentary
Posted 10 weeks 3 days ago