Mark Skousen believes getting in on companies before they go public is the fastest and most reliable way to get rich today.
Generally, these sorts of opportunities are off limits to regular investors…until now. Mark has discovered a powerful private equity investment that allows us to get in on multiple private equity deals all at once.
We reveal what it is for free in this teaser review.
The Teaser
As the late comedian George Carlin once said, “It's a big club, and you ain't in it.”
Besides being one of the top economists and (private equity) investors, Mark Skousen also once awkwardly arm-wrestled William Shatner.
The big club I'm referring to is the “accredited investor” club.
To get in, you and your spouse need to have an income of over $300,000 per year or a net worth of over $1 million.
But that's not all.
Besides being rich, you also have to be connected. The investment bankers and lawyers who often control these deals don’t just let anyone in.
It’s only for people who are “in the club.”
Mark says this is a tragedy and he won't stand for it!
Well, not exactly. But he does want to give us the chance to make the same kind of investment, without all the barriers.
- No need to be an “accredited investor”
- No investment minimums
He calls it “the greatest private equity investment of all time” and this chart proves it:
It crushed the S&P 500 even during one of the longest bull runs in history.
This confirms that it is a publicly traded stock that we can buy with just a couple of clicks inside our brokerage account.
A New Type of Company
A few years ago, some investors got together and decided that the government's accredited investor rule was…stupid.
So, they decided to create an exemption to the system.
The company would trade publicly, giving regular investors access to their investments, which would be in private companies.
A public, private equity fund, if you will.
The Pitch
Its name and ticker symbol are only revealed in a new special report called “The Secret Backdoor into Private Equity Riches.”
All we have to do to get our hands on it is subscribe to Mark's monthly newsletter, Forecasts & Strategies for $49.95.
This price includes twelve monthly issues, one-on-one discussions with Mark and fellow subscribers during quarterly conference calls, urgent Special Alert emails as needed, and more.
Private vs. Public
Real estate, equities, and bonds.
These asset classes have always made up the quintessential retail investor portfolio due to their heavy promotion and relative ease of access.
However, are they the best-performing assets you can own?
The empirical evidence says NO.
Private equity returns have smashed the broad market for years:
All signs suggest that this will continue.
According to one of the largest private equity firms in the world, Bain & Co., private market assets held by money managers will grow more than twice the rate of public assets, reaching $60 to $65 trillion by 2032.
As this increased demand takes hold, so too will the valuations of private market assets rise.
But what is causing this seismic change?
For one, it used to be that companies would go public early in their lifecycles and the biggest gains would go to public investors.
That's not the case anymore.
Going back to 1980 through 2000, the average company used to go public after 6 or 7 years in business. Now the average company goes public after 10 to 11 years or longer.
The media has also commented on this, saying “Companies are waiting longer and longer to go public.”
This means their hyper-growth phase is over by the time they go public.
An extreme example is the ridesharing app Lyft (Nasdaq: LYFT).
It was a unicorn (a startup valued at over $1 billion) before it went public in 2019. Early investors made out like bandits in old Western movies, scoring an 8,536% gain.
Meanwhile, retail investors who bought shares on the IPO date are down 80%.
Other examples also abound, like Spotify, where initial, pre-IPO investors made more than 32,000%, and Dropbox, where private equity investors made a cool 141,667%.
If we were able to put just $500 into the three companies just mentioned like private equity investors, we would have more than $900,000 today.
Now, maybe we can. Let's find out what stock Mark is teasing.
Revealing Mark Skousen's Private Equity Investment
Clues are few and far between. Here is what we know:
- It is a publicly traded private equity group that owns stakes in a wide variety of private businesses.
- Over the last 13 years, its stock has multiplied investors’ money more than 10-fold and it pays a dividend.
- We can buy shares for less than $100.
There are a few publicly traded PE firms to choose from, but Mark's pick here is Main Street Capital Corp. (NYSE: MAIN).
- MAIN is a Pittsburgh-based private equity firm that takes equity and debt positions in lower mid-market private companies throughout the US and Canada.
- Since 2011, its stock has appreciated by more than 200%, excluding dividends.
- MAIN shares are currently selling for around $55.
Make 850% In Just Three Years?
Mark tells the story of how MAIN invested in a private automotive company a few years back.
Three years later, they sold the position for a $14.4 million profit, representing an 850% gain in just three years, which was paid out to investors in the form of a special dividend.
He says “Everything they touch seems to turn into a major money-multiplying win.”
How likely is this to continue?
To the fundamentals we go…
For a private equity firm, its capital should be low-cost equity from private investors. But after a quick look at its financials, it isn't so.
Instead, it mainly consists of debt, in the form of a special purpose vehicle revolving credit facility, notes bearing interest at 6.50%, and Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) debentures (more debt).
This is what it uses to fund its investments.
Needless to say, this is less than ideal.
It places a time constraint on the number of years MAIN can hold onto its investments before it has to sell to pay back its institutional investors. This could lead to less-than-favorable exits, depending on macroeconomic and other conditions.
However, to date, the firm has excelled under this setup, with a 19% Return on Equity (ROE) and a solid history of growing its regular and supplemental dividends.
The firm has also successfully exited about 98% of its investments, well above the average of around 80% for PE firms.
An 850% total return in three years is super aggressive by any standard. But given the favorable business backdrop in the US, MAIN should continue to outperform the broader market and it offers exposure to an often undervalued asset class – lower mid-market businesses.
Quick Recap & Conclusion
- Economist and investor Mark Skousen believes getting in on companies before they go public is the fastest and most reliable way to get rich today.
- He's discovered a private equity investment that allows us to get in on multiple private equity deals at once, and we can buy it directly from our brokerage account.
- The name and ticker symbol of this publicly traded private equity firm are only revealed in a new special report called “The Secret Backdoor into Private Equity Riches.” It can be ours if we subscribe to Mark's monthly newsletter, Forecasts & Strategies for $49.95.
- Fortunately for everyone reading, you got it for free. It's Main Street Capital Corp. (NYSE: MAIN).
- MAIN is primarily funded by debt, which should give investors some pause. But it has a solid long-term track record of successful exits and returning capital to shareholders, which should continue.
Are you an investor in publicly traded private equity funds? Share your experience in the comments.