Jan 15Accelerate Monthly: Diversification Pays OffJanuary 14, 2023 — While 2022 was challenging for most investors, it offered valuable learning opportunities. Before 2022, the traditional 60/40 stock and bond portfolio worked wonders, lulling investors into a state of complacency. Investors were apathetic about diversifying beyond just two assets due to a steady 40-year decline in…Hedge Funds15 min readHedge Funds15 min read
Dec 31, 2022AlphaRank SPAC Monitor - A Liquidation StoryDecember 31, 2022 — “Liquidation sale” is a term that perks up the ears of many budget-minded consumers. It is often characterized by discounted prices on the remaining inventory in an effort to quickly sell off the remaining goods and clear out the store or warehouse. Rarely can one find…Spacs8 min readSpacs8 min read
Dec 28, 2022AlphaRank Merger Monitor - The “Go-Shop” ProvisionDecember 28, 2022 — Boxing Day, celebrated on the day after Christmas, is a public holiday in many countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It is a day when many retailers offer their best sales, and consumers take advantage of discounts to make it the biggest shopping day…Arbitrage8 min readArbitrage8 min read
Dec 10, 2022Accelerate Monthly: Peekaboo, I See an ArbitrageDecember 10, 2022 — One of the more amusing aspects of getting older is becoming a proponent of the dad joke. These jokes are cheesy, sometimes clever, and will most likely make you groan or potentially feel embarrassed for the purveyor. I came across one that made me snicker just…Private Debt12 min readPrivate Debt12 min read
Nov 30, 2022AlphaRank SPAC Monitor - A Flood of CashNovember 30, 2022 — Rewind back to the summer of 2020. The global economy was reeling from the Covid pandemic; however, stock markets were making a historic bull run to new all-time highs. Unprecedented stimulus measures, designed to stave off economic collapse, led to billions of dollars falling into the…Spacs6 min readSpacs6 min read
Nov 26, 2022AlphaRank Merger Monitor - The Passing of the TorchNovember 26, 2022 — In last month’s Merger Monitor, we discussed the changing nature of the private equity industry. Specifically, since the funding markets for leveraged buyouts shut after banks took significant losses financing deals struck earlier this year, private equity firms have begun to dramatically change how their deals…Mergers And Acquisitions7 min readMergers And Acquisitions7 min read
Nov 12, 2022Accelerate Monthly: A Beneficiary of Rising RatesNovember 12, 2022 — If you were to ask the average person what a pressing issue in their life is, the most common answer would likely be interest rates (or the economic issues they cause). Specifically, what is top of mind for consumers is the current level of interest rates…Hedge Funds8 min readHedge Funds8 min read
Nov 4, 2022From the Trading Desk: Musk’s Twitter Buyout“The bird is freed,” Elon Musk tweeted the day he closed the $44 billion Twitter buyout. It was a bittersweet ending to the M&A story of the year. On April 25, 2022, Musk announced the friendly acquisition of the company at $54.20 cash per share, representing a 37.9% premium and…Mergers And Acquisitions12 min readMergers And Acquisitions12 min read
Oct 31, 2022AlphaRank SPAC Monitor - When Unintended Consequences Bring Unexpected ResultsOctober 29, 2022 — In last month’s SPAC Monitor, I discussed the new Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the unintended consequences of the 1% share buyback tax’s effect on SPACs. If the Government told you there would be a 1% tax on the money you withdrew from your chequing…Spacs5 min readSpacs5 min read
Oct 27, 2022AlphaRank Merger Monitor - The Unleveraged BuyoutAs investors seek more diversification, especially in volatile markets, private equity (“PE”) has garnered a significant portion of the capital that has flowed into alternative assets. One reason for private equity’s popularity is its lack of mark-to-market, which has the effect of hiding losses from investors when public markets go…Hedge Funds7 min readHedge Funds7 min read
