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The middle market: What’s the appeal for investors?

March 16, 2023

What type of companies are classed as mid-market and what’s their appeal to PE investors?

The middle-market buyout segment has been relatively underpenetrated by private equity (PE) investors, with less than 5% of mid-market companies backed by a financial sponsor. Despite this, there is strong interest among GPs and LPs alike, on the basis of the attractive characteristics and broad opportunities in the market. So what type of companies are classed as mid-market and what’s their appeal to PE investors?

Private equity: understanding the secondary market

February 15, 2023

The secondary market has grown dramatically in size and sophistication, with a large universe of attractive investment opportunities driving repeat and new investors, says private markets platform Titanbay.

The secondary market has become a useful tool for liquidity within the private market arena. General partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) alike can manage assets or release cashflow through a secondary transaction, if situations or investment strategies change.

What’s on the horizon for private markets in 2023?

January 20, 2023

Ahead of embarking on Titanbay’s Horizons Conference, a forum bringing together industry leaders to navigate the waters of private markets, Titanbay’s head of investments Alex Bozoglou casts a weathered eye on what’s in store for the year ahead.

The global events of the past few years have made planning for the future trickier than ever. Now, with soaring inflation, increasing interest rates, collapsing stock markets and imminent recessions, scoping the horizon for investment trends requires a steady hand and a strong stomach.

Technology: Why change is here to stay

January 18, 2023

Few industries have bypassed the disruption caused by new technologies in recent years. What’s more is that this global trend is accelerating, leading businesses to adopt new tech more quickly, so creating further disruption, says private markets platform Titanbay.

As we take our first steps into 2023, it feels like a natural time to reflect on private markets’ journey through 2022 and to begin to map out the possibilities for the year ahead. Below, we take stock of recent events and market movements, and consider how they could influence performance over the coming months. You can find more Titanbay insights here.

After reaching extraordinary valuations, zeitgeist stocks are yet to return to reasonable levels

December 9, 2022

Ruffer investment director Duncan MacInnes delves into the truth and fiction of the bull market.

In the classic Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street, Kris Kringle is on trial for claiming to be the real Santa Claus. His defence lawyer says, “If this court finds that there is no Santa, I ask the court to judge which is worse: a lie that draws a smile or a truth that draws a tear.”

Doesn’t that feel like markets recently?

Making the case for cash

November 4, 2022

Cash is trash. Cash is a melting ice cube. Going to cash is giving up... Ruffer investment director Duncan MacInnes says there's still life in the folding stuff yet!

Cash is trash. Cash is a melting ice cube. Going to cash is giving up.

Ruffer currently has the highest weighting to cash or cash-like assets in our history. We are concerned that liquidity is the new leverage and that a degradation of liquidity conditions poses an imminent danger to investor portfolios.

So why, unlike other investment managers, are we comfortable owning cash today?

How do you navigate the current environment and what does history show us about trying to time the market?

October 24, 2022

Private markets investment platform Titanbay explores the dilemmas of investing in periods of uncertainty.

We all know that markets are particularly choppy and unpredictable right now. Buffeted by major geopolitical stresses, and against a backdrop of rising inflation and higher interest rates, investors may find it difficult to know which way to turn.

So, what does this mean for private equity performance? How do you navigate the current environment and what does history show us about trying to time the market?

What is fuelling the surge in private debt?

September 30, 2022

Private markets investment platform Titanbay investigates why private debt is one of the world’s fastest-growing alternative asset classes.

Private debt is one of the world’s fastest-growing alternative asset classes. Over the past decade, the market has grown 13.5% on average annually, with assets under management (AUM) hitting $1.2 trillion at the end of last year, according to Preqin [1]. The same report notes that this represents the second quickest pace of growth of all private market asset classes, behind only infrastructure.

European unicorn growth outpaces US and Asia

September 28, 2022

Unicorns are being created at a faster rate in Europe than anywhere else in the world. Private markets investment platform Titanbay takes a look at the structural changes driving the acceleration.

Unicorns are being created at a faster rate in Europe than anywhere else in the world. Private markets investment platform Titanbay takes a look at the structural changes driving this acceleration.

Europe has been breeding unicorns at a record pace. The number of startups valued at $1 billion or more hit at least 78 last year, up from 17 in 2020, according to PitchBook data [1]. That pace of growth was higher than in the US and Asia, where the venture capital ecosystem is more established.

Are we nearing the end of Yield Curve Control (YCC) in Japan?

September 20, 2022

Despite the Bank of Japan resolutely sticking to its policy of negative interest rates and yield curve control in 2022, might it about to change course asks Jamie Dannhauser of Ruffer LLP?

So far in 2022, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has resolutely stuck to its policy of negative interest rates and yield curve control (YCC), despite the dramatic hawkish shift from the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) and, more recently, the yen’s nosedive. Might the BoJ be about to change course?