David's Articles

David has been writing and blogging for over 10 years

Most Recent Articles:

The First Hire is the Most Critical Family Office Hire

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash One of the first senior analysts I worked for when I began my career on Wall Street was quick to explain to me his theory that the background of the person running equity capital markets (ECM) within an investment bank would...

“We Only Do Good Deals” – The Conclusion

Photo by Dustin Tramel on Unsplash For the last four weeks, we have been working through a series exploring the trend for family offices to engage in private equity deals directly, aka "direct deals" vs. allocating to traditional private equity fund managers. ...

“We Only Do Good Deals” is Not An Investment Strategy – Part 4

Photo by Frederick Warren on Unsplash In our series on the challenges of family offices choosing to directly invest in companies, we have considered the human capital of a family, the competitive landscape of M&A, and the challenges of deal sourcing. The...

“We Only Do Good Deals” is Not An Investment Strategy – Part 3

“Water, water, everywhere, but nary a drop to drink” Photo by Omar Gattis on Unsplash For the last several years, doing 'direct deals' aka buying businesses outright vs. investing in private equity funds has been en vogue for family offices. The allure of...

“We Only Do Good Deals” is Not An Investment Strategy – Part 2

Too Many Fish in the Sea? Last week in Part 1 of our series, we looked at the role of the family itself in doing "good deals" and why the family itself can either be an asset or liability in any sort of direct investment strategy. Specifically, we considered...