America’s Road To Wealth

  Chapter 276 New Title [King of Private Equity]

   "Oh, got it. That's very good. Remember to take a good rest, and remember to take care of your body."

   "Well. I'm at the company, I'll go back to accompany you at night."

   "Okay, that's it. Goodbye~"

  “.”

  Smith Building, Queens, New York.

  The first floor of the building was once again opened up as a temporary conference hall.

  A total of more than 150 LPs of Smith Capital, that is, investors.

   was invited over today.

  Because today is the end of the closed period for Smith Capital Phase 2 and Phase 3 private equity funds.

   In other words, after the money was distributed in February this year.

  This month, Smith Capital will give investors another money.

   Once you have the first time, you will have experience the second time.

  It will slip a lot, and it will not be so green anymore.

  The process of the second money-sharing conference was the same as last time.

  It’s all about Merio, the former deputy manager and one of the current presidents.

  After the cliché was finished, it was David who came to the stage to announce the results of this private placement.

  The difference is that this time, Abel was too lazy to even go on stage.

  As the chairman of the company, he sat under the stage and looked at everyone indifferently.

  Smith Capital's second and third private equity funds.

  The returns of these two funds did not disappoint investors.

  Smith Fund II, the current balance on the company's account is 8.756 billion US dollars.

  Smith Fund III currently has a balance of US$8.695 billion.

  Same as the closed First Smith Fund.

  The profits of these two funds are more than five billion US dollars.

  Smith Capital's first, second, third, three consecutive private equity funds.

   A total of 16.695 billion US dollars in profits were earned for investors.

  Also earned about US$8.347 billion in dividends for Abel, the fund manager.

  Among them, 834.7 million US dollars will be drawn by Smith Capital as the company's profits.

   In other words, from last August to now.

  Abel is in the third phase of private equity funds of Smith Capital.

  The dividend royalties drawn are as much as 7.513 billion US dollars.

   This is a scary number. The combined income of all fund managers on Wall Street this year may not have such a figure at present.

  But the investors are very much in favor of him taking this figure.

  Because no one can do what Abel did, nearly doubling their investment in just half a year.

  If it is converted into an annualized rate of return, it is about 85% a year.

   Except for the stock market and highly risky speculative investments.

  In the market, no investment manager can do this.

   Not even Buffett and Soros.

  The investors who have received the principal and profits are eager for Smith Capital to start private equity again.

  Of course, it must be the fund manager of Albert Down.

  Otherwise, they would not be interested in ordinary private placements like the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds.

  Those funds, they will buy a little more or less because of the face of Smith Capital and the signboard of Abel.

  But it is absolutely impossible to get them to invest a large amount of money.

  Who called those private equity funds, although the income is not bad.

   But this is not bad, and it is only compared with ordinary private equity funds.

  These three funds are completely different from the three funds managed by the Albert fund manager.

  More than 150 investors asked Smith Capital to start a new private equity fund.

  The fund manager of this private equity fund must be Abel, and everyone is no longer satisfied with the fundraising quota of 3 billion US dollars.

   They want more.

  But Smith Capital and Abel did not reply on the spot, and the money distribution conference ended after the money distribution was completed.

   Just not long ago, the next day actually.

  A piece of news from Wall Street began to slowly spread and ferment among the American media and the Internet.

  A person familiar with the matter said that Smith Capital's financial product "Smith Seventh Fund Company" will be established in the near future.

  The fundraising will be $50 billion.

   The average American doesn't have much reaction to this.

  Whether it is $100 million or $50 billion, it is too far away from the average American.

   What's more, what about private placements that require a subscription of at least US$1 million at a time?

   Which one can the average American afford?

  Ordinary Americans still prefer to buy the ones that Smith Capital has just launched.

  The Internet virtual currency fund currently sold on the Internet - "American Family Money Treasure".

  This is one of the latest financial products of Smith Capital, and the entry barrier is incredibly low.

  As long as you have 1 dollar, you can buy this product that has been referred to as "American Treasure" for short.

   Many people have discovered that buying it and redeeming it is very simple.

   Only need to open an account at Pacific Bank of Commerce.

   Then you can quickly buy and redeem between bank and Smith Capital accounts without handling fees.

  The key is that there is no handling fee, which can be regarded as another deposit mode.

  Compared to storing in the bank, the interest is a little higher.

  Ordinary people are more concerned about this.

   So what the rich care about, of course, is not some "American treasure".

   They will only care more about the Smith Seventh Fund.

  Funds invest in the world. After years of development, they have already become a mature investment method.

  With the advent of the new century, the scale of US funds has grown rapidly, and the inflow of equity funds has been significant.

  As of the end of 2001, the total net assets managed by regulated funds in the United States was 28.1 trillion US dollars, an increase of 13% compared with 24 trillion US dollars at the end of 2000.

  At the same time, the net subscription of funds reached a record high of nearly 1.27 trillion US dollars.

  In addition, the total number of fund companies in the United States has also remained stable, but the degree of head-to-head has deepened.

  In 2001, the total number of US fund companies was 16,000. In recent years, the number of US fund companies has been relatively stable.

  Fund companies are mainly independent fund consultants, managing 72% of the assets of investment companies.

  In the past ten years, the concentration of US fund companies has increased significantly.

   Among them, CR5 increased from 15% at the end of 1995 to 25% at the end of 2001, but the market share of central fund companies declined.

  Simply put, those top funds are more sought after than ever.

  Based on these data, at a glance, the figure of US$50 billion in the seventh private placement of Smith Capital does not seem to be a lot.

   As everyone knows, it is already very scary for a single private equity fund to reach this scale.

  It's very simple, just look at a set of data and you can know what a $50 billion private placement is.

  Currently the world's number one private equity firm is the Blackstone Group.

   Note that it is the Blackstone Group, not the Blackrock Group.

  Black Rock is a subsidiary of BlackRock, which is a subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group.

  PNC Financial Services Group is currently one of the shareholders of Smith Capital.

  Blackstone Group is mainly private equity.

  PNC's Black Rock Group is a mutual fund, which is mainly public offering.

  As the world's largest private equity company, the funds managed by the Blackstone Group at this time are only about 86.5 billion US dollars.

   The second place is Europe's EQT (EQT Group).

   EQT Group is a Swedish company. It is currently the number one private equity firm in Europe, with over EUR 80 billion in assets under management.

   EQT Group is also a listed company on Stockholm Stock Exchange, Sweden.

  Yinruida, the parent company of EQT Group, is the largest industrial holding company in the Nordic region, and its subsidiaries include ABB, Ericsson, Electrolux and many other Fortune 500 companies.

  The third place is the "Kolberg Kravis Roberts" group from the United States.

  The name is too long. It is generally called KKR Group in the industry, the third largest private equity company in the world and the second largest in the United States.

  Controls over $70 billion in funds.

   What do you see?

  If Smith Capital’s private placement of 50 billion US dollars this time, all of them can be successfully raised.

  Then it will immediately become one of the top ten private equity firms in the world.

  Because in the field of private equity, a single private equity fund of more than three billion US dollars is already a large private equity fund.

  In the global private equity field, there are more small private equity funds with a scale of hundreds of millions of dollars, which specialize in a certain investment field.

   Raising $50 billion at a time. Or private equity, even on Wall Street, this is the first time ever.

  After the news came out, Wall Street giants didn't believe it at first.

  Because if this fundraising is successful, it will be the largest single private equity fund in financial history.

  People EQT Group, Blackstone Group, KKR Group.

  Those are managing dozens or hundreds of private equity funds, and the scale of custody funds is so large.

  Smith Capital is good, and wants to eat all at once.

   At one time, I wanted to become more than half of the Blackstone Group.

  To be honest, even Wall Street, which is already a little afraid of Abel, is not optimistic about his success.

  No. 120 Broadway, New York City, No. 4 World Financial Center Tower, Manhattan.

  The 34th floor.

  This is one of the five largest investment banks on Wall Street and the headquarters of Merrill Lynch.

  Merrill Lynch CEO David Komansky is talking to Charlie Schaff, who has been rehired, but no longer as CFO, but as special financial advisor.

  Charlie Schaff in the last USD/JPY event.

  As the unlucky backer, he and one of the original presidents, Black O'Neill, became the scapegoat.

  Black O'Neill stepped down after that. Afterwards, he was sued by Merrill Lynch Securities, and the court will be held in one month.

  With the energy of Merrill Lynch, even if O'Neill is black, he will inevitably go to prison.

   As for how long to sit, it depends on the mood of David Komansky, the current CEO of Merrill Lynch.

   Judging from the degree to which O'Neill was overhead for David Komansky at the time.

   It is estimated that Stanley O'Neill will not be in prison for ten or eight years, and he will have no chance to come out.

   In contrast, Charlie Schaaf was an unlucky guy. He was O'Neal's confidant at that time.

  Although he advised O'Neill at that time, the black president did not listen.

   After that large loss, Merrill Lynch pursued responsibility.

   O'Neill stepped down and was sued. Charlie Scharf was fired to deal with the turbulent funders.

  But the top people, including David Komansky, knew that Charlie Schaff was innocent.

   Everyone knows that Charlie Schaff is a financial elite with strong capabilities.

  If it weren't for Charlie at the time, Merrill Lynch's losses would have been even more serious.

  Plus David Komansky needs some henchmen to get back in power.

  So two months after firing Charlie Schaaf, he was brought into Merrill Lynch again.

   It's just that Charlie can't continue to serve as the chief financial officer as before.

  Charlie Scharf is now Mr. CEO's special financial advisor.

   It is David Komansky who wants to cultivate a confidant to buy, because he has the ability.

   "Private placement of a single $50 billion private placement."

  In the CEO's office.

  David Komansky looked at Charlie Schaaf on the opposite side, "Charlie, what do you think?"

  This thing is outrageous.

  Even Charlie Schaff has always been the group of Wall Streeters who admire Abel the most.

  At this moment, Charlie Schaff is also a little bit unbelievable:

   "Five billion U.S. dollars? Is it too exaggerated? Even if it is divided by ten, it is not an easy task to raise five billion U.S. dollars at one time."

  David Komansky nodded and said, "I also discussed this matter with Richard at the financial reception yesterday. Richard also believes that it is impossible for Smith to complete it."

   "But what if he finishes?" Charlie Schaff couldn't help asking.

   "We have to be careful from now on." David Komansky said with a wry smile:

   "Smith with $50 billion, plus his own funds, and other public funds. Wall Street is not safe anymore."

   "Yeah," said Charlie Schaff.

   "Also." Charlie Shaf said softly again: "Mr. Komansky. If it is true, will Merrill Lynch subscribe?"

   "Why not?" David Komansky said directly: "As long as it is guaranteed, of course we will invest."

  Charlie Scharf thought you were contradictory.

   On the one hand, I don’t believe that Abel Smith can reach the fundraising quota.

   While saying that if it is true, Merrill Lynch will invest.

what is this?

  Is it both optimistic and not optimistic?

  Charlie Schaaf was reticent at this time, and he decided not to comment.

   "Charlie." David Komansky didn't let him go, "You know Abel Smith. You know David Mellon better."

   "You go to Smith Capital. How about going to David Mellon to confirm whether this private placement is real or fake? Please."

  Charlie Schaff smiled wryly, knowing that he couldn't refuse.

   Unless he doesn't want to work at Merrill Lynch, he doesn't want to continue working in the financial field.

  Because it is obvious that David Komansky brought himself, the confidant of the former president O'Neill, back to the company as this special consultant.

   The most important thing, with a high probability, is that before this, I was the main person in charge of negotiating with Smith Capital at Merrill Lynch.

  I also have a good friendship with David Mellon.

  The rest of Merrill Lynch have no friendship with that side, so if they let themselves do it, the effect will be better.

   This is the biggest role for Merrill Lynch at present.

   is also the most important reason why David Komansky will let himself come back.

  Thinking of this, Charlie Schaff could only sigh in his heart, and smiled on the surface:

   "Of course it's fine. Mr. CEO, I'll get the job done."

  David Komansky saw that he was so sensible, and patted him on the shoulder, "Charlie, look forward to everything, and leave this matter to you."

  Charlie Schaff had no choice but to agree, and went to Smith Capital in the afternoon.

   Not surprisingly, Charlie Schaff met many Wall Street acquaintances in the parking lot of the Smith Building.

  For example, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and other companies, these companies have sent people.

   are still high-level.

   And some other top Wall Street firms.

  Charlie Schaff sees these people, these people see him.

   You don’t need to say it directly, everyone knows the real purpose of each other’s coming to Smith Capital.

   Soon some people got together and chatted quietly.

   Chatting with Charlie Schaff was the head of the fixed income commodity department of Goldman Sachs, Lold Blankfein.

   "Charlie, it's great to have you back at Merrill Lynch."

  Head of Fixed Income Commodities at Goldman Sachs, greeting Charlie Scharf.

   What happened inside Merrill Lynch is no secret on Wall Street.

  Everyone knows about Charlie Schaff's experiences and abilities.

  If Charlie Schaff hadn’t signed a non-competition agreement, he could only work for Merrill Lynch within ten years.

   During the time when Charlie Scharf was fired, he had already been absorbed by other Wall Street companies.

  It's just because the fines for violating the competition agreement are too heavy, and those Wall Street companies are unwilling to bear it.

  Charlie Scharf had only been unemployed at home for two months, and then was pulled back by Merrill Lynch.

  Charlie Schaff smiled bitterly: "Laurd, this is not suitable for talking about these things. To be honest, I came here to know about Smith Capital Private Equity."

   "Who isn't?" Lold Blankfein said, "Paulson asked me to come because he wanted to know about this."

  Charlie Schaf looked around, and he said softly:

   "Then everyone's purpose seems to be the same. Look, so many people are actually here for the 50 billion."

  The former CFO of Merrill Lynch estimates that these Wall Street companies are the same as David Komansky.

   Both sides do not believe that Smith Capital can complete a private placement of 50 billion US dollars.

  But at the same time, every company is afraid that if it is true, they will not eat meat.

   Those CEOs and chairman of the board are embarrassed to come.

   Then they sent these middle and high-level personnel who had contact with Smith Capital.

   Thinking about it, Charlie kind of wanted to laugh.

   "What are we going to do now?" Lold Blankfein asked Charlie.

  Lauld Blankfein is actually visiting the Smith Capital headquarters for the first time.

  The reason why he was sent here was because Paulson wanted to train Lold Blankfein.

  Lauld Blankfein is one of Paulson's promising successors.

  Secondly, David Mellon, the current CEO of Smith Capital, once worked under Lauder Blankfein.

  The relationship between the two is pretty good, which made Lauder want to grab some favors.

  It is a bit similar to the reason why David Komansky sent Charlie.

  Charlie Schaff looked around, there were more than 20 Wall Street executives similar to himself and Lloyd Blankfein.

  Charlie simply said: "Why don't we make an appointment, let's meet David Mellon together?"

  Lold Blankfein agreed.

  The two separated and got in touch with other Wall Street executives.

   It took ten minutes.

  More than thirty executives from different Wall Street companies reached a unity in front of the Smith Capital building.

   That is, everyone will hold a group together and ask David Mellon together.

  Determine the specific news of this private placement of Smith Capital.

   It was just when they first gathered and walked inside the Smith Capital building.

  Charlie Schaff saw with sharp eyes that a large number of people, accompanied by David Mellon, were walking outside talking and laughing.

Charlie Schaff's heart skipped a beat, because beside David Mellon, he saw Munger of Berkshire Hathaway; Lincoln of PNC Financial Services Group; Bede of Citibank; Fidelity Peter at the firm; Peron at Wells Fargo.

   Immediately afterwards, Charlie Schaff and other Wall Street executives who hadn't had time to get in.

   heard the announcement from David Mellon at the door.

  That is the seventh phase of private equity of Smith Capital. The unprecedented 50 billion single private equity fund is real.

  This private equity fund has not been announced to the public yet, and no formal fundraising has started.

  But it has been subscribed for 32.5 billion US dollars.

   Only a balance of $17.5 billion remains.

   Once the news was announced, the audience was in an uproar.

  (end of this chapter)