Read "Patient Capital: The Problems and Possibilities of Long-Term Investment" by Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner if you're interested in learning more about long-term investing, its potential, and its challenges. The book is written by two Harvard Business School professors who are experts on the subject of long-term capital investment.
They discuss the importance of long-term investments in addressing the world's most pressing issues, such as climate change and deteriorating infrastructure, but also the considerable obstacles that investors and fund managers pose to these investments. The book uses memorable tales and examples, such as the origins of private capital, the rise and collapse of Forstmann Little, and the accomplishments of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, to convey the finest evidence in an interesting manner. The book also suggests practical solutions for resolving these issues and improving long-term investment for all parties.
The book is divided into nine chapters that cover topics such as:
- The need for investing long-term and the major pools of long-term, patient capital, such as pensions, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and wealthy individuals and families.
- The long-term conundrum and the limitations of investors, such as short-termism, governance issues, lack of expertise, and misaligned incentives.
- The strategies to invest as if the long term matters, such as diversification, risk management, co-investments, direct investments, and impact investing.
- The history and evolution of private capital, such as venture capital, buyouts, real estate, infrastructure, and hedge funds.
- The fund managers' challenge and the internal structure of their fund managers, such as compensation, fees, exit options, performance measurement, and succession planning.
- The ways to revisit the private capital partnership and improve the alignment of interests between investors and fund managers, such as transparency, standardization, innovation, and collaboration.
- The hybrid models of long-term investing that combine the best or worst of both worlds, such as permanent capital vehicles, sovereign wealth funds' subsidiaries, family offices' platforms, and public pension funds' initiatives.
- The future of long-term investing and the trends and opportunities that will shape it, such as technology, regulation, globalization, competition, and social responsibility.
No prior understanding of finance or economics is necessary to read this book because it is aimed at general readers. It is appropriate for anyone who wishes to comprehend the difficulties and opportunities of long-term investing, as well as how it may benefit both investors and society at large.
You can use the link below to purchase a copy:
