It has been an eventful week, and it's easy to fall behind. Here are the 10 most important reads of the week.
John Doerr On Why He Joined Bill Gates’ $1B Energy Fund. Famed investor John Doerr, who is now chairman at Kleiner Perkins, is joining a global “who’s who” of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and business leaders in a $1 billion investment fund led by Microsoft-co-founder Bill Gates that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero by financing emerging clean energy technology. Read more
Billionaire Ken Griffin On Investing, Citadel And Life/Career | Video (1:04:42). A speech and Q&A with billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin. In his speech Ken covers his early experiences of investing, why hiring the best people is the most important part of his business and coming back after loosing money in the financial crisis.
The Rise Of The Family Office Venture Investor. VC dollars aren't as readily available as they were in previous years, and for the companies that are receiving funding, they are finding that the terms are becoming increasingly less palatable. The good news for startups looking for funding is that a new pathway for direct investment is emerging: the family offices of wealthy individuals and families. Read more
Billionaire Reid Hoffman On Entrepreneurship, Startups And Networking | Video. An interview with billionaire entrepreneur Reid Hoffman. In this interview Reid discusses his three start ups and how he became involved in business. The interview also covers his education and family life, as well as his views on what the next 'frontier' will be. Overall the interview offers a glimpse into the mind of not just a great entrepreneur and venture capitalist but also a great thinker. Read more
Stanford’s Endowment Is Hiring. Big Egos Not Needed. Stanford Management Co., the nonprofit overseeing the university’s $22.4 billion endowment, is looking for an unspecified number of analysts to join a team of 16 investment professionals. Read more
CalPERS Lowers Assumed Rate of Investment Returns. Board member Richard Costigan, comments on CalPERS decision to lower the assumed rate of return on pension fund investments to 7.00 percent in a phased reduction over three years. Read more
Hedge Fund Winners And Losers Emerge As Year Ends On Better Note. This was the year to ridicule hedge funds. Pension funds, politicians, Warren Buffett, even hedge fund managers themselves -- they all had something to say about the disappointing performance, high fees and market saturation. Well-known managers from Ray Dalio to John Paulson saw performance on their main funds range from flat to double-digit losses, while some distressed-debt investors like Jason Mudrick benefited from the rally in commodities prices. Read more
The 40 Who Matter In The Indian Startup Ecosystem. While e-commerce influencers still dominate the list, there are a handful of new entrants, mostly those connected with SaaS start-ups. Here are the first 16. Read more
Asset Allocation Matters Most: Former UNC CIO Mark Yusko | Podcast. Mark is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management. Prior to forming Morgan Creek, he was President, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of UNC Management Company, the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from 1998 to 2004. Read more
Bill Ackman To Platinum Partners: Hedge Funds' 7 Top Disasters Of 2016. As far as financial returns go, 2016 was actually pretty good for hedge funds—at least compared to the last couple of years. But several of the industry's bigwigs still took it on the chin this year. Read more