Roslane Aouameur

The global debt problem seems likely to continue and grow, at least in developed economies. As you can see in the chart below, big nations governments are not able to balance their budget, and with the exceptions of Canada and Germany, all of them are running budget deficits. In one end of the spectrum, France collects very high taxes relative to its gdp (55%), and yet their spending is even higher (60ish%). The U.S., on the other end, collects much less in taxes (less than 30%, but has the biggest gap relative to revenue. All these gaps need to be financed with debt, and their cumulative effects are affecting these economies ability to grow. The US is betting heavily on AI to create a new paradigm that allows more revenue to close the gap, similar to the late 90’s period that allow Clinton to show a budget surplus thanks to the internet. But since there is no fiscal discipline, government spending will grow as well, erasing the benefits. The only realistic solution might be inflation. Want to know more? join Fund@mental here https://lnkd.in/ewBZ9GK4 #iamfundamental #soyfundamental #wealthmanagement #familyoffice #financialadvisor #financialplanning #policymistake #ratecut #stagflation

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As a business owner, I know communicating my unique value proposition is key, so I’m proud to announce that my wealth management practice, tailored to the needs of fellow entrepreneurs, has undergone a complete rebrand. Introducing: Zaks Private Wealth of RBC Dominion Securities Expertly growing and preserving the wealth of Canadian business owners for over 20 years Discover how we safeguard wealth and strengthen business legacies at zaksprivatewealth.com. #RBC #DigitalBranding #WealthManagement

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I’ve always been amazed by the disparity in costs between Europe and the US for internet and mobile connections: I’ve been told the problem for the US (and the same for Canada) is the much lower population density. Is this enough? (Duncan Lamont had one of his intriguing Friday Quizzes on this topic few months ago) However, I’m more surprised that Switzerland is even more expensive: anyone has a good explanation, I’m naïve and might say the mountains requires more capex? What about hi-tech South Korea? And even within Europe there are huge differences: 1 gigabyte is Germany costs 13x more than in France and 24x more than in Italy! I suppose the principal answer is exactly what it says in the chart: hyper-competition among operators is driving prices down (probably not the only one: income per capita and pricing power are likely also important). In Italy there are 4 major players (𝗧𝗜𝗠, 𝗩𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗳𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝟯 and 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗯), two mid-tiers (𝗜𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗱 and 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲) and some more Virtual Network Operators (𝗛𝗼, …). Good for consumers, bad for the companies: none of them make any money! If you have any insights on why your country is more or less expensive, that would be much appreciated.

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Libertas 2024 Leveraged Finance Compensation Report Our team at Libertas Recruiting just now completed an update of our Libertas 2024 Middle Market Leveraged Finance Compensation Report. We specialize in Leveraged Finance Recruiting, and we have been busy this year building out Middle Market Leveraged Finance teams for Banks and Direct Lending firms in New York, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte and Los Angeles and other major markets throughout the U.S. We always pause this time of year to pull together the compensation information we have collected from thousands of interviews we conduct each year as we work on Leveraged Finance Searches, and then prepare our Annual Leveraged Finance Compensation Reports (for the Middle Market and Broadly Syndicated Leveraged Loan markets). Highlights from Libertas 2024 Middle Market Leveraged Finance Compensation Report: #1 - 2023 Compensation Review: Middle Market Leveraged Finance Total Compensation in 2023 Was Down 20% to 25% for Banks, but it was Up 15% to 20% for Direct Lenders as Loan Activity for LBOs declined, Banks pulled back due during the Regional Bank Deposit Crisis, and Direct Lenders picked up market share. #2 - 2024 Compensation Outlook: Middle Market Leveraged Finance Compensation in 2024 is expected to Increase 20% to 25% for Banks and remain flat or marginally increase for Direct Lenders as Loan Activity for New LBOs and Refinancings Increased in 2024 and Banks Re-emerged in the sector. #3 - 2025 Compensation & Recruiting Forecast: Compensation for Middle Market Leveraged Finance Bankers is Expected to Increase in 2025 Compared due to an expected Increase in LBOs and associated Leveraged Finance Volume, increased volume of Refinancings and an increased Demand for Leveraged Finance bankers by Banks, existing and new Direct Lenders, and new Joint Ventures between Banks and Direct Lenders. If you'd like to discuss the 2024 Compensation Report and how we can help you with your 2025 Recruiting Needs in Leveraged Finance, select a time on my Calendar that works for you for a Catch-Up Call:  https://lnkd.in/euwqaveJ

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[Compounders Podcast Clip] There is no question that most people think of microcap stocks as inherently risky. Then, if you layer on companies that are traded in Canada versus in the US, there is an increased perception of risk. With those stereotypes as context, I wanted to know from Mathieu Martin, CFA about the criteria he uses to sift through the Canadian microcap universe for worthy investments. Please enjoy the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gPjUq4_Z

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Big News: OMERS Spins Off LifeLabs After 17 Years! 🔄🧪 What Happened: After nearly two decades, Toronto's pension fund OMERS is selling LifeLabs, Canada's largest medical testing company, to Quest Diagnostics, a New Jersey-based firm, for $1.35 billion. This deal shifts control of Canada's lab testing industry predominantly to U.S. hands. Details: LifeLabs will retain its Canadian headquarters, management team, and brand. Patient health data will continue to be stored in Canada. Vaughan-based Andlauer Healthcare Group, the only Canadian contender, was outbid by $100 million. Catch-up: Like the grocery, airline, and telco sectors, lab testing in Canada has seen significant consolidation. However, unlike these industries, the lab testing sector is now dominated by foreign companies, which may not prioritize reinvesting profits back into Canada. Dynacare, LifeLabs' main Canadian competitor, is also owned by a U.S. firm. Why It Matters: Foreign control of heavily concentrated industries can impact local economies. With both major Canadian medical testing firms now under U.S. ownership, a significant portion of the industry's profits may flow out of the country, potentially affecting domestic investment and growth. Stay informed on how this could shape the future of Canada's healthcare landscape. 🌍💊 #Healthcare #BusinessNews #Canada #LifeLabs #OMERS #QuestDiagnostics #LabTesting #EconomicImpact #LocalEconomy #IndustryNews

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PE Gate applauds Wealthsimple's innovative approach to investment management. Their platform truly empowers investors by providing autonomy over their investment choices and offering a user-friendly interface to track and manage their portfolios effortlessly. At PE Gate, we share a similar mission. We believe in making investments in private, small businesses more accessible and giving investors the autonomy to choose where to invest their money. Transparency is at the core of what we do, and our platform (image below) is designed to provide an easy-to-use experience for tracking investments and ensuring our investors have the information they need at their fingertips. Moreover, PE Gate is committed to providing liquidity to investors. Our secondary market allows investors to exit on their own investment time horizon and goals, giving them the flexibility they need. Just as Wealthsimple has revolutionized the investment landscape for individual investors, PE Gate aims to bring the same level of autonomy, transparency, and liquidity to private, small business investments. Together, we are fostering a more inclusive and empowering financial environment for all. #Investment #PrivateEquity #FinancialFreedom #Transparency #Liquidity #Innovation #WealthSimple #PEGate

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Notes From The Desk: 2024 Federal Budget - Capital Pains Effective June 25th, the capital gains inclusion rate will be increasing from 50% to 67% for corporations. Accordingly, many Canadians investing through holding or operating companies are looking to crystallize gains and redeploy capital in a more tax-efficient manner. We have a solution that could offer these investors an attractive option, with the returns taxed as ‘active business income’.  In that, the gains are taxed at the relevant provincial corporate rate (i.e., 26.5%), and the investment does not impact the small business deduction. For more information on the strategy and this unique tax feature, please get in touch.https://https://lnkd.in/gni_PWAk

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Tons of M&A going down in Canadian Fintech: 🤝 Fluence Technologies a Toronto based FP&A software was acquired by Anaplan, a US rival. 🤝 Bitbuy (a division of WonderFi) has acquired the Canadian customers of Bitstamp, a rival crypto exchange who pulled out of Canada. 🤝 GroupeX Solutions, a Toronto based HR professional services firm was acquired by much larger French rival, HR Path. 🤝 SVB’s VC business is being sold off to Pinegrove Capital Partners, a fund launched in part by Brookfield Asset Management. -- Want more? Subscribe to the Canadian Fintech Newsletter in the comments below 👇

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Let's talk about one of the most tax-efficient estate planning strategies available in Canada - Insurance within a Corporation The last two weeks we have covered estate planning topics for Holding Companies (Holdco's): 1) 3 layers of taxes on your Holdco when passing the assets onto your heirs 2) Estate Freeze to get future growth in the hands of your heirs The reason life insurance in a Holdco is so efficient is that the entire amount of insurance proceeds (death benefit less cost base) creates Capital Dividend Account (CDA) room. This CDA room is what your heirs can use to pay out as a tax-free dividend. The trick here is to size the expected net insurance benefit to offset the tax bill to preserve the value of their inheritance, rather than giving part of it to Ottawa. Just like a personal WL policy, we usually see the policy premiums funded with money that you're never going to spend personally – it would all be going to your heirs anyways. Due to the very unfavorable triple taxation of leaving corporate assets to your heirs, the fact that WL proceeds can be ripped out tax-free makes their after-tax returns extremely compelling.

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Market turbulence ahead! As tensions escalate between Israel and Iran, the market takes notice. Investors brace for uncertainty, prompting a sell-off across sectors. Do you have a question about investing? Feel free to call me at 416-332-3863 or email me at [email protected]

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Some things are hard to make up...I hope you find the humor in this... This article gets to the opaqueness of some private assets, looking at an example from the private equity world. From the article: "Also, though, many people who buy and sell financial assets for a living are fundamentally in the business of looking for mispriced assets. Your job is to find some situation with edge, some place where you have more expertise or patience or capacity than the market, some asset that you know is undervalued but that the market will sell to you cheap. You see the tension here, right? The tension is: 1. You think a thing is worth $100. 2. Someone is selling it for $80, because they are wrong or weak. 3. You buy it at $80. 4. The valuation controller comes to you and says “for various important purposes, I need to know the current fair market value of this thing.” 5. “Oh, $100,” you say. [1] Of course! That’s what it’s worth! That's why you bought it! (For $80.) 6. You book $20 of profits, charge performance fees, etc." Note too that private fund have a few incentives to mark a value as high as reasonably (they hope) as possible from point #5 above for two main reasons: 1. Their assets show growth and thus higher performance; and 2. They typically charge a management fee on the % of assets - higher the assets, higher the fee This is from Jonathan Weil from the Wall Street Journal: "The last day of September 2023 was very good for Hamilton Lane Private Assets Fund. It recorded a 39% gain on a group of investments it bought the day before for $52 million, giving a quick boost to the fund’s performance. Of the three dozen investments it bought on Sept. 29, nearly half had more than doubled in value on Sept. 30. The Hamilton Lane fund’s stake in a fund that focuses on Latin America rose eightfold in 24 hours. Welcome to the obscure secondary market for investments in private-equity funds. The Hamilton Lane fund and others buy stakes in private-equity funds from existing investors. It is a thinly traded market largely out of public view. Secondary market volume for private-equity and similar funds in 2023 was $112 billion, according to investment bank Jefferies. The small amount of publicly available data about the market shows buyers often get their stakes at big discounts to the official values set by the private-equity funds’ managers. In many cases, buyers quickly mark up the stakes they acquire to the official value, no matter how little they paid for them. … The investment funds that mark up their acquisitions benefit from instant gains, which increase assets and boost fees. Strong performance numbers draw in new investors."

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The 2,500 - 4,000 independent sponsors currently active in the US (compared to 9,000+ PE shops) are in the spotlight again. Citrin Cooperman’s 2024 report on their activities is out. What a read. Isponsors are now truly moving the needle in the lower mid-market. They've clawed and gnawed their way there, by earning the respect of sellers and by offering a welcomed alternative to corporates and traditional PEs. For years, owners who run great businesses have been bombarded by corporates and traditional PEs, whose approach has largely been the same (and probably has gotten more cookie-cutter despite the increased competition). If owners haven’t sold to them, it’s partly because they haven’t liked what they’ve heard from them. It also explains why isponsors can win deals against their competitors’ much deeper pockets and reach. The stat sheet of isponsors for the year is remarkable: - 3 in 4 report having returned 3x+ MOIC to their investors, 40% of them over 10+ years, based on 1) proprietary sourcing; 2) a strong relationship with the owners; 3) experience in their sector - 2 in 3 find the discipline to not go above 6x under any circumstances, and still close, which is impressive given the competition for quality assets - 3 in 4 get deals done without partnering with another isponsor, highlighting the strength of their operations Thanks for putting this together Sylvie Gadant, John A. Basile, Jr. and the rest of your team. See you tomorrow at the iGlobal Forum conference in NYC. Anna Ivanova John Koeppel Cameron Vernest Spearhead Corp Dev #independentsponsor #mergersandacquisition #privateequity

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It's what you don't know that kills deals and harms valuation. What are the disruptive trends you need to know? How do you achieve an optimal outcome? Avoid being a deal disaster - one of the 80% that fail in self-managed M&A efforts. Where are we in the M&A cycle and what's on the horizon? Join me online on July 24th at 10am MDT for our Merge Briefing - a 90-minute #executive seminar and market update for tech M&A. Use code "EXECUTIVE" to waive the registration fee. #economics #investing #innovation #management #technology #startups #business #consultant #leanstartups #bigdata #inspiration #entrepreneurship #founder #CEO #cofounder

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Anything below 100% means the BDC is paying distributions from sources other than Cash Net Investment Income (NII) ➡️ Sources could be numerous: fundraising, sale of assets, etc. How long can a fund keep paying distributions if it doesn't generate enough cash from investment activities? A very long time. 📊 Below is a chart for a few BDCs we track, showing updated numbers from Q3 reports (more coming this week as companies file 10-Qs). The trendline is downward sloping for OBDC and NCDL. ~~~ For more on private credit (and public BDCs), subscribe to our newsletter 👇 cc Accredited Investor Insights

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Notes From the Desk: CAD July CPI – And the Trend Goes On.   Canadian inflation continues to move towards the Bank of Canada’s 2% target.   By the numbers.   - YoY CPI 2.5% (2.5% expected), the lowest level in 3 years. - YoY CPI Core Median – 2.4% (2.5% expected). - YoY CPI Core Trim – 2.7% (2.8% expected).    The notables.   - Core goods prices continue to recede, posting a 0.2% decline. - Airfare/travel decelerated, bringing some relief to core services. - Shelter costs posted their smallest MoM increase (0.2%) since February 2023 due to muted rental increases. - Telco’s look to shore up earnings as telephone prices rose 2.5%   The implications.   With inflation within the 1-3% band and moving lower, the Bank of Canada is set to cut rates by 25 bps at their next three meetings this year. If the unemployment rate keeps moving higher, the odds of one of those cuts being 50 bps will increase.   The Bond market had already priced in another 75 bps of cuts this year and a 3% overnight a year from now. Thus, today’s data led to a muted reaction, with yields dipping only a few basis points lower.

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What can we glean from the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA)'s H1 2024 market report? John Rikhtegar, Director, Capital at RBCx looks at what these investment patterns mean for companies across various growth stages in the tech and innovation ecosystem, and how VC firms are investing in innovation to foster a competitive economy. Read more: https://bit.ly/3XCtfLY #RBCxPowersBold #venturecapital #insights #mycompany

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