💸 Not-so-private equity

Private equity firms couldn't sell their handiwork | Saudi Aramco dished out jaw-dropping dividends | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH     Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for March 12th in 3:14 minutes.   💸 'Tis the season to invest tax effectively. So join us for [How To Build Your ISA Portfolio]( on March 26th, and find out how to use your tax-free options before you lose them. [Grab your free ticket]( Today's big stories - The less-than-lucrative deal-making industry left private equity firms nursing a record number of unsold assets - If you’ve got $10,000 to invest, these pros have a few ideas – [Read Now]( - Oil giant Saudi Aramco dished $100 billion in dividends last year, despite making 25% less profit than the year before To Have And To Hold [To Have And To Hold] What’s going on here? Private equity (PE) firms were left cradling a [record]( number of unsold assets at the end of last year, with their something old, something new, and money borrowed leaving them blue. What does this mean? PE firms are like house flippers, but for businesses. They pool and borrow money, buy a company, spruce it up, then ideally, sell it for a profit. But that last bit has been a sticking point lately. Higher interest rates have made it pricier for companies to borrow money, leaving PE firms with shrinking piles of business cards to call on when they need buyers. So now, Bain estimates that a record-breaking 28,000 unsold companies – worth more than $3 trillion – are in the clutches of the world’s PE groups. They’d usually have been cast off three to five years after their makeovers. But with over 40% of the unsold fledglings landing around the four-year-old mark, PE firms will be struggling to bring in enough fresh cash to pay out their more impatient investors. Why should I care? Zooming in: Stop the bleeding. Heartfelt promises and I-O-U notes aren’t enough to keep wary investors onside, so PE firms have been borrowing money to bridge the gap. That solution is more of a Band-Aid than an antibiotic, though: they’re using their assets as collateral for those loans – you know, the unsold companies that were bought using debt. In other words, PE firms are layering debt with debt. The bigger picture: From private to public. The traditional initial public offering (IPO) exit route is starting to light up in green, after a long time with barely a flicker. European companies have raised over $3 billion in IPOs since January, more than double the amount from the same time last year. That’s put the market on track for its best quarter since 2021, so it’s no wonder two PE-owned businesses recently announced plans to join that flurry of stock market listings. You might also like: [How private equity firms make money.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=To Have And To Hold&utm_campaign=daily-global-12-03-2024&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Where The Pros Would Invest $10,000 Right Now [Where The Pros Would Invest $10,000 Right Now]( [Photo of Reda Farran, CFA] Reda Farran, CFA, Analyst Ask a random group of people what they’d do with [$10,000](, and you’ll get a bunch of different answers. A beachy vacation in Bora Bora, a start on a long-delayed bathroom renovation, tickets to the next World Cup. Ask a few professional investors, and you’ll get [investment hints](. (Okay, and maybe a couple of votes for business class flights.) Three leading wealth advisors recently shared their top ideas with Bloomberg, and I’ve taken them [a bit further]( to help you put them into action. That’s today’s Insight: [if you’ve got $10,000 just lying around, these pros have a few ideas](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY IG Make your money work further with ISAs You want to grow your portfolio as fast as possible – as sustainably and safely as possible. Well, [stocks and shares ISAs]( could be right up your street.  The savings accounts let you deposit £20,000 a year to invest, and the best bit: all of your profit is free of capital gains tax. That means you keep more of your money and the money you make, so you can [invest more]( and – you guessed it – potentially make more over time. And starting this year, you can open [multiple stocks and shares ISAs]( and use “[flexible transfers](” to transfer a fraction of one account over to another, giving you more control over your money. [Check out IG’s resources for free to find out the ISA do’s and don’ts before the April deadline](. DisclaimerInvesting puts your capital at risk. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. If you want your brand featured here, [get in touch.]( Oil And Vinegar [Oil And Vinegar] What’s going on here? Saudi Aramco [paid]( stakeholders nearly a third more last year than the one before, despite the age-old belief that shrinking profit and growing dividends don’t mix. What does this mean? Saudi Arabia’s government has been capping the amount of oil the country’s producers can drill, determined to influence the slippery stuff’s stagnant prices through scarcity. That weighed on Saudi Aramco, pushing the state-owned producer’s profit down by a quarter last year from the one before. Still, Aramco’s easy access to onshore oil means its low costs are the envy of its global competitors, so even that compromised profit was the best of the bunch. In fact, despite the limitations, Aramco’s profit was its second-highest ever. No wonder the company could afford to push dividend payments up 30% to nearly $100 billion last year, marking a tidy payout to the Saudi government and Aramco stakeholders. Why should I care? Zooming out: Talk about being the breadwinner. Most companies would trim or pause dividends if profit moved backward, but Aramco is not “most companies”. The Saudi government owns 82% of the oil giant, and in return, it expects enough cash to run a country. No exaggeration: Aramco made up 62% of the state’s revenue last year. Plus, the more enticing a company’s history of dividends, the more investors will want in. That’ll be on Saudi’s mind: after selling 1.7% of Aramco’s stock in 2019, the country’s thinking about teeing up round two later this year. The bigger picture: Aramco’s gassed up. Aramco predicts that the world will buy 104 barrels of oil a day this year, only slightly higher than last year’s 102.4 million. That might explain why Saudi Arabia is betting on cleaner, more sustainable gas energy. Aramco’s doing the grunt work, scoping out international gas projects and outlining plans to churn out 60% more gas than its 2021 standards as soon as 2030. You might also like: [What you need to know about Saudi Aramco.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Oil And Vinegar&utm_campaign=daily-global-12-03-2024&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "At times I think and at times I am." – Paul Valery (a French poet, essayist, and philosopher) [Tweet this]( 🫖 The fintech equivalent of piping hot gossip Thousands of retail investors just told us what they expect from the markets this year, and [how they plan to invest]( to make the most of their predictions. Our [exclusive data]( reveals that retail investors are more optimistic than ever. In fact, almost three-quarters of them believe that the world's stock markets will be higher in a year. So lend us your ear and prepare for the hottest debrief of the year: [grab your copy of our quarterly retail investor Pulse](. [Check The Pulse]( 🎯 On Our Radar 1. Boe-ing. A wheel just fell off a passenger plane during takeoff, dealing another blow to [Boeing’s beat-up reputation](. 2. AI-enhanced investing is here. Unlock the [control of a brokerage, smarts of AI, and guidance of an advisor]( with Magnifi.* 3. See the world like never before. All you need is two hours and [access to Poor Things](. 4. Trading platforms are a dime a dozen. [Here's how to find one]( that's really worth your money.** 5. Sam Altman is a Redditor. Here’s why the OpenAI founder has invested so much in [the soon-to-be-public social media site](. **Your capital is at risk. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. SPONSORED BY HEALTHWORDS.AI [HEALTHWORDS.AI]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live 🤩 Coming Up Soon... All events are in UK time. 🏦 [How To Build Your ISA Portfolio:]( 5pm, March 26th 💸 [How To Become An ISA Millionaire:]( 5pm, March 27th 💪 [Building Wealthy Women: Investing in Your Future:]( 5pm, April 11th 🚀 [2024 Modern Investor Summit](: 2pm, December 3rd ❤️ Share with a friend Thanks for reading {NAME}. If you liked today's brief, we'd love for you to share it with a friend. You stay classy, {NAME} 😉 We’d love to hear your thoughts. [Give feedback]( Want to advertise with us too? 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