The rules are very different in the private markets, and you should know the difference if you’re going to play the game. We all know that you can trade public securities.  The most well-known exchanges include the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ for U.S. public equities and the institutional “bond markets” for government and corporate debt. Don’t expect to trade your investment in a private...

Stock prices and bond yields are easy to find.  But it’s challenging to confirm whether the terms of a direct investment in private placements are fair. Given that the private securities markets (over $2.4 trillion/year raised in the U.S.) are now larger than the public markets, we offer this framework to lend some perspective. The pricing of...

Everybody’s talking about alternative investments, but there seems to be a lot of confusion about what they are. Well, here’s our stab at defining alternative investments – what they are and what they’re not.  If you’re interested in learning about the alternative investments, this is a good place to start. What Alternative Investments Are Not Alternative investments are not equities (or stocks,...

The following provides general background on, and underscores certain risks to Investors associated with, Private Placements. Private Offerings can be purchased directly from the Issuer of the Security during the Offering period or through an agented, “best efforts” process managed by a FINRA-registered Broker-Dealer acting as a Placement Agent.  Under U.S. law, other than the Issuer, only...

The following offers an explanation behind increasing investor allocations into Alternative Investments. The investment returns of many Alternative Investments result from the fundamental performance of the underlying business or project versus the more general swings of the equity and bond (Fixed Income) markets.  Alternative Investments tend to offer Total Returns as well as Non-Correlated...

This information summarizes important risk-related considerations for Investors making Alternative Investments. Evaluating a potential investment is, arguably, the most important aspect of any investing activity, whether as part of a private Securities Offering or for a publicly registered investment.  No investment is riskless, and losses will inevitably happen within a portfolio.  Limiting...

The following reviews the principal regulations which govern Private Placement offerings of securities and describes allowable investor participants. Private Placements are Offerings of Securities.  The transaction and the related securities do not follow the public registration requirements of the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  They are traditionally offered in a non-public manner...