Capitalize for Kids
In May, our non-profit Capitalize for Kids interviewed billionaire hedge fund manager Larry Robbins and Pierre Lavallee, Head of Global Investment Partnerships at CPPIB, on today’s market environment and where they’re allocating capital.
“Investment management is a marathon. Consider Glenview. I launched the business when I was 30, and started the fund when I was 31. I said that it likely would be a 30-year endeavour for me. Any time you’re talking about 25 or 30 years – that’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you know me well, you’ll know that I’m neither a distance runner nor an endurance athlete. But if you talk to any good distance runner or endurance athlete, the focus is never on any individual mile or any individual milestone. It’s about the race – knowing that you need to make sure you keep pace over time.” – Larry Robbins, Glenview Capital
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The surprising habits of original thinkers
In late March, we sat down at the Rotman School of Management to listen to Wharton Business School professor, Adam Grant, speak to how creative people come up with great ideas. The point which resonates most is the importance of failure.
Per Adam, "The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they're the ones who try the most," Grant says. "You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones."
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Worry About What You Might Lose on the Downside
We came across a very thorough profile on Henry Kravis, one of the “K’s” in KKR & Co. In the Bloomberg Markets interview, Kravis speaks to the evolution of the firm, his toughest moments, and the benefits of a true partnership.
“Somewhere in the 1990s the firm was struggling a little bit. Our returns were suffering. George and I sat down in this room and said, “We’re making mistakes.” It wasn’t other people making mistakes. You’re running a firm, your name is on the door, the responsibility is yours. That’s when we set up a new investment-committee approach. We set up 100-day plans for new companies we buy. We go through every division, look at personnel, and put metrics in place.
But it was George and I looking at each other. It wasn’t, “You made that mistake” or “I made that mistake.” We made that mistake together, so let’s figure out what we’re going to do. Everything we’ve ever done has been split right down the middle. It always has been, and it always will be.” – Henry Kravis, KKR & Co.
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Latest threat to online lenders: 'stacking' of multiple loans
Online lending has fundamentally altered the way many people interact with financial institutions but it seems that growth is starting to come at a cost. “Because of many lenders’ hurried, algorithmic underwriting, use of “soft” credit inquiries, and patchy reporting of the resulting loans to credit bureaus”, several loopholes have arisen whereby multiple lenders end up making loans to the same borrowers, “often within a short period, without the full picture of their rising obligations and deteriorating ability to pay”.
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Ego is the enemy: The Legend of Ghengis Kahn
Per Farnam Street, “Genghis Khan was the greatest conqueror the world ever knew because he was more open to learning than any other conqueror has ever been”.
As we expand our respective businesses, whatever they may be, we are constantly faced with new challenges. Those that adapt a lifelong approach to learning are, in our opinion, much more prepared to deal with those challenges.
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