IPO, in financial jargon, is an abbreviation for “Initial Public Offering”. This is where a private company offers shares to the public market to raise capital and become traded on a stock exchange. Over the years, private companies come and go. Those that are most successful, often become publicly traded to attract more capital and to continue growing their business. Going public may come with its downsides – reporting profits to shareholders and maximizing shareholder return, sometimes at the cost of employees, or social standards. While IPOs are an exciting time for investors to gain access to often growing companies, there’s a less commonly known meaning for IPO that those in finance sometimes joke about – IPO could also stand for, “It’s Probably Overpriced”.
Springtime means warm weather, earlier sunrises, later sunsets, happier moods, and of course… The Masters! One of golf’s greatest tournaments kicks off for a weekend of excitement with Jim Nantz’s warm welcome of “Hello, Friends”. Those interested in golf are usually glued to their televisions all weekend. Because of the pandemic and shut down of the PGA season last year, it’s been two years since the last springtime Masters tournament. Dustin Johnson won in the delayed November edition this past year and yesterday, Hideki Matsuyama donned the green jacket, making history as the first male Japanese player to win a Major Golf tournament.
Who would think that for two consecutive years the federal tax filing deadline would be extended? Individual tax returns for 2020 do not have to be filed until May 17, 2021 due to difficulties arising from the COVID pandemic.
Thought the hedge fund mentions were in the rear-view mirror? Not so fast… Hedge funds have repeatedly found themselves under the microscope as of late, between the Gamestop saga to the more recent meltdown of Archegos Capital Management.
As of writing this note, the Ever Given was still stuck, however as of this morning, high tides helped float the ship and Suez Canal was resuming normal operations.
If you haven’t heard about NFTs yet, you surely will soon. It might be your kids asking you for money to buy “digital playing cards” like NBA Top Shots, or your favorite band/singer’s new album is auctioning off their songs. Recently, a piece of this form of “Digital Art” that anyone can view from their computer fetched $69 million at a Christie’s auction. Wait… What!? And no, that is not a typo.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Napa is apparently a legal scrabble word and is defined as a type of leather made by tanning sheepskin. Though, I suspect, most of us think “full bodied red wine” when we see those four iconic letters. Yes. treated well, leather does improve with time, but… today we will stay focused on wine (and the markets) - which also tend to improve with time.
Jim Ferrare was named to this year’s 2021 Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list by Forbes for the fourth year in a row.