About this site
iPrivate Markets is an independent publication launched in December 2023 by Paul Sandford. The site publishes content related to investing in private market offerings, from the perspective of the investor. We are not trying to sell investors on individual offerings, the goal is to educate the audience on the tricks and traps of private markets.
Private asset classes such as private equity, private debt and commercial real estate have historically been the playground of the wealthy elite. Private markets are massive in size and growing rapidly. Asset classes such as commercial real estate syndication, private equity, and hedge funds are included under the private market umbrella.
Per the regulatory framework in the United States, investors in private offerings must satisfy the definition of an accredited investor which is primarily a function of a household’s net worth or annual income. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is responsible for regulating and modernizing the accredited investor framework with the primary mission of protecting investors from bad actors and the general lack of required disclosures related to private securities offerings. The heavy reliance on financial criteria to define an accredited investor sidesteps the desire to protect investors, and instead justifies its framework by proclaiming that the wealthy are in a better position to withstand losses in private markets. In short, the affluent have unfair advantages because they have access to private markets, and non-accredited investors are mostly locked out of these potentially lucrative opportunities.
Approximately 13% of households currently satisfy the definition of accredited investors; however, the JOBS Act of 2012 is expanding the market beyond accredited investors. Education is paramount to protection of wealth.
IPrivate Markets is written by Paul Sandford, CPA and MBA. Throughout my W-2 career, I have had exposure to all types of investments, public and private. My career commenced as a Certified Public Accountant, cutting my teeth during the savings and loan crisis, seeing firsthand the dangers of investing in real estate. My duties later evolved into the role of treasurer for a private company, CFO for a global private company, and finally as a CEO for a not-for-profit with a large investment fund. In addition to the obvious responsibility for managing the investments of these organizations, mergers and acquisitions were a dominant theme with all of these organizations. Acquisitions are essentially an exercise in private equity. Buying real businesses, fixing them up for higher profits in order to improve the combined enterprise or to sell businesses at a higher price down the road. Large private equity firms are vilified in the press for being short-term oriented, laying off excessive number of employees, and being generally focused only on investment returns. The reality is that this is a basic playbook of public and private businesses alike. Growth, progress and efficiency are essential features of capitalism, and buyouts are a necessary tool for long-term survival.
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