SPACs, IPOs, and direct listings. These days it seems like everyone’s got an opinion on the best way for a company to make its way to public markets.
- Direct listing fans are bashing the traditional IPO process after Snowflake’s massive first-day stock pop, saying it amounted to big money being left on the table. Meghan Morris and Dakin Campbell took a closer look at what’s behind the huge pricing disconnect.
- SoftBank-backed Opendoor plans to go public by merging with a SPAC backed by tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya. Alex Nicoll rounded up highlights of the house-flipping company’s investor presentation, which drew comparisons to what Amazon has done for retail or Uber for transportation. But not everyone’s so happy about all the hype the SPAC route can entail.
The costs of each option are also part of the debate. Two stories this week took a look at how fees are shaking out for bankers and lawyers:
- Elite law firms are rushing into the SPAC craze, looking to make hundreds of millions of dollars in the process: When SPACs first go public, they often pay around $300,000 for legal advice on their IPOs, but once they pick a target to buy, the merger often results in legal fees that can be three to five times what it cost to go public.
- Investment banks raked in more than $100 million in fees on Snowflake’s mega IPO: Here’s a breakdown of how much Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and eight other banks each made.
In case you missed it, check out a must-read investigation from Dan Geiger on how Zumper, a home-listing site that has raised $150 million from backers like Blackstone and Kleiner Perkins, weeded out thousands of Section 8 renters in a practice some experts say may amount to discrimination.
More below on a new impact-investing team at Apollo; the results of Goldman Sachs’ annual survey of summer analysts and associates; and the latest fintech investments from Wall Street’s biggest banks.
Goldman Sachs’ summer interns prefer Instagram to TikTok, believe remote work hurts relationships, and think Biden will be elected president in November
jacoblund/Getty
Goldman Sachs polled its summer analysts and associates on their personal habits, likes and dislikes, their thoughts on the future of remote work and mask-wearing, and other topics. Reed Alexander rounded up some of the most interesting findings.
You can see the results from the survey here.
Morgan Stanley shakes up its tech and operations team
Morgan Stanley
As Dan DeFrancesco first reported, Morgan Stanley has made two senior promotions within its technology and operations team. That comes as concerns over cyber are top of mind for financial firms, especially during the coronavirus pandemic as more employees have been forced to work remotely.
Click here to read more about the moves.
PIMCO wants to create its own version of BlackRock’s Aladdin
As Bradley Saacks and Rebecca Ungarino reported, PIMCO, the $1.9 trillion asset manager known for its fixed-income prowess, is creating a new unit focused on getting the firm’s research, tools, and analytics into the hands of its clients like pension funds and wealth managers.
Read the memo the bond giant sent to employees laying out its approach.
Mastercard is nabbing red-hot fintech customers like Brex and SoFi from rival Visa
Brex
Mastercard has set its sights on fintechs in recent years, and formed a new fintech-focused team in February led by Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of digital partnerships.
What execs at Bank of America and JPMorgan are thinking about the future of branches
Top exes at the two biggest US banks by assets have seen digital adoption soar among their retail customers during the coronavirus pandemic. And that’s putting a spotlight on how exactly they’re thinking about their sprawling networks of physical branches.
How Citi is angling to turbocharge wealth management
Rebecca Ungarino took a look at how Citigroup is doubling down on plans to beef up its US wealth management services, creating a new top wealth role in its US consumer bank and hiring a Bank of America wealth executive for the job.
Here’s what the move means for an industry-wide battle over Main Street investors.
JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citi are Wall Street’s most active fintech investors
Goldman Sachs, Citi, and JPMorgan have been the most active US banks in fintech investing since 2012, according to CB Insights data. Shannen Balogh took a look at their recent deals, which have largely focused on investments in capital markets, wealth and asset management, and small-business focused fintech.
Here are 10 startups the banks have poured money into so far this year.
Meet Apollo’s new impact-investing team
Apollo Global Management rolled out its newly formed impact investing unit this week with the announcement of three leaders. They talked with Casey Sullivan about the key ways they believe the firm will differentiate itself from the pack.
Careers
- Inside $8.3 billion Balyasny’s Anthem training program, where aspiring portfolio managers are handed hundreds of millions of dollars to prove they can cut it
- How MBA grads can stand out as the Big 4 firms cut back on hiring, according to business school career counselors
- Here’s what it takes to get a job at elite law firm Latham & Watkins, according to its hiring chairs and 2 top industry recruiters
Legal
- How Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, is using tech to boost its pro-bono caseload by nearly 40%
- A group of Nixon Peabody partners who moved to DLA Piper say they’re still owed millions by their former firm, offering a rare look at the disputes that can follow a lawyer’s move from one firm to another
- Davis Polk just abandoned its strict seniority-based pay scheme, putting pressure on holdout law firms still using an ‘old school’ lockstep structure to follow suit
- Davis Polk announces surprise associate bonuses of up to $40,000, becoming the latest firm to tout its financial strength amid the pandemic
Banking
- Citigroup is stepping up its war with the hedge funds that refuse to return Revlon money by ignoring their Bloomberg chats and cutting off pricing information on bonds
- The real reasons behind Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat’s retirement
- Read the memo Citi CEO Mike Corbat sent staff quoting race car driver Mario Andretti to get employees to take risk and controls more seriously
Fintech
- Here’s the 12-page pitch deck that Alloy, a fintech that helps vet customer identities and prevent fraud, used to raise its $40 million Series B in less than a month
- Inside 2020’s buy now, pay later frenzy: why the red-hot twist on financing is a must have for everyone from top VCs to Goldman Sachs
- Bank of America has been nabbing thousands of patents — far outpacing rivals. 2 execs lay out why the firm has embraced that strategy as the best way to drive tech innovation.
Real estate
- 5 commercial real-estate investors who are raising billions laid out the red-hot opportunities and strategies they’re leaning into after a major market upheaval
- WeWork CEO commits to paying each employee at least half of their annual bonus this year, saying its ‘more important’ to reward employees during challenging years than good years
- Authentic Brands may join Simon and Brookfield in a rescue of JCPenney, allowing the new owners to populate the department store chain with Authentic’s stable of retailers
Asset management
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