YouSaid · the spoken record

Joan Solotar

lines on the record: 65
first: 2021-08-27
most recent: 2021-08-27
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

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“Your floods every couple of years, don't we? Exactly. So in hindsight, it would have been wonderful to know that we get these floods and that you have to Nimble and flexible in your thinking and anticipatory and understand that you have no idea what's coming your way. So I think the other thing is, which maybe I did know, but proved to be true, finance is, in my mind, one of the most fascinating industries because, I mean, think about what I just mentioned and all of the derivative impacts of that and inputs from that. I mean, you have to be thinking about not just in industry, but what's happening on the regulatory front, geopolitically, secular trends. We were talking about the internet disrupting retail in the 90s, the late 90s. Now, it took a while. To really”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Can we call that a crash then? That's true. That's true. That's a crash. And then, you know, the SNL crisis, interest rate shock of 94, the tech bubble rise and then deflation, the global financial crisis, disruption from a pandemic. I mean, it's like, wow.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, when I look back and I think about all of the market disruptions during my career. So starting in the summer of 86 when I began, shortly after that, you had the stock market correction.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's that. You know, no one's expecting you to have the judgment of the partner, but whatever you're doing, just make sure it's as excellent as it can possibly be.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So this is the advice that I've given my own adult children and I give to their friends and anyone I speak to, which is when choosing not a job, think about the skill set that you want to acquire, make sure you're going to a place where you could really learn where you think it's a quality firm and you're going to learn from quality people. But most importantly, just about how you act, how you present, you want to be the person that everyone says, I want her on my team. And what does that mean? It means you're working hard. You're willing to put whatever it takes to get the job done. Your focus on the details. You're reviewing everything. You know, what can your value be as a young person?”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Was that Walter Isaacson's book? It was. Exactly. And then I'd say the final category for me is just something that's so beautifully written. So my favorite book of all time is Crossing to Safety. And it's not a big story. It's sort of a quiet story, but the use of language is just wonderful.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I just love hearing one about, for none of them was any of this easy. They all had repeated failures, but also Einstein in particular, it was this light bulb went on that here's a guy we all call a genius, he was. And we refer to people who excel in all different subjects, geniuses. But he really excelled in one, he was maniacally focused on one area. He didn't do well in chemistry. He needed language tutors. I just thought it was, I never really thought about that in that way.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I just finished reading Hamnet, which I don't know if you've heard of it, but so it's fiction, but it's based on Shakespeare's son, Hamlet, notice connection to Hamlet. Who died when he was 11 and around Shakespeare's wife. The story itself is fictional because there's just very little information on them, but it was beautifully written and fascinating. I often also am drawn to biographies, either autobiographies or others. So the Einstein biography and Steve Jobs, I loved Phil Knight's book, Shoe Dog on audio. I listened to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Obama.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A lot from just watching Steve and Tony and John Byron Ween is on my team and just the collective experience and different styles. So from all of them, I would say just thinking big about building your business and not incrementally. My team here hears me say this ad nauseum. I did 100 this year. So next year I'm going to do 110. No. I want to think about how big can this be and how do we get there quickly. So that combination of thinking big, impatience, really focusing and just being a flexible thinker and equity research, you certainly go through different cycles. But at Blackstone, I've really learned to not say like Well, when A happens, you do B, or etc. It's really, well, A happen, but I don't know, maybe we should be thinking about X, Y, and Z that no one else has done. And so it's been expansive for me.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In the office has could have So, another female thing here, you know, historically, I would have said I was lucky. Now I just say I'm fortunate. There's a difference there. So we connected and I followed him to DLJ, but he really pushed me. He was the one who, when I didn't feel ready, had me go meet with portfolio managers. And he used to say, like, you know all the numbers. You can answer all their questions. So I credit my career really to him. And Tom Letty, who ran the morning meeting at DLJ, he's a wonderful person, but he was very tough and very tough on me. And I'm ever grateful to him for that. He would let me come in super early. I would tell him what I was thinking of saying, and he would just say, that's not what you want to say, you know, in a pretty harsh tone. But it forced me to just get better and better at it. So those were the two early, but I have to say, even my time at Blackstone, I've learned”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I really had several, unfortunately I'm sure I'll be leaving people out here because I really do feel like it took a village. But my first mentor was David Cypher. He was an insurance analyst. He was the number one ranked equity research analyst at first Boston. That's where I started. He was not my first boss. I was working for someone else, and I was there one night at 10 o'clock at night. David had hosted a dinner for a company, I think it was Tokyo Marine, and came back to the office. I was the only one still there. And so he said, I need you on my team. Literally, that was our connection. Goes to show.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So it's funny you mentioned Shits Creek. So, my two go-to's when I need to just relax and laugh. Stressful day, modern family. So good. Shittys Creek.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Something a little more sophisticated. Exactly. And then I enjoyed shows like Ted Lasso and others. Right now I'm watching White Lotus on HBO.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't know what this says about my emotional state, so I've definitely evolved a little more highbrow versus where I started is what I'll say.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So for me as a parent, once I had kids, it was figuring out what I wouldn't give up. I think there are many women conflicted. They feel awkward saying leaving the office because I have to take my child to the doctor, etc. And there were certain things I just wouldn't give up. I never missed a school performance or play. I never missed a parent teacher conference. But was I able to go to the gym? Was I able to make it home for dinner every night? No. So figure out where your lines in the sand are. Although I will tell you after a year of work, my daughter was reflecting on those truths and she said, I get it, but as a first year. I just have to put my head down work. Right. I don't have lines in the sand. Well, it's different when you're.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So again, if you're generalizing, women tend to speak more softly and therefore don't come across as having as much conviction in their ideas, even if they do. And it really harkened back to when I was in a room filled. It was a boardroom, and I was presenting on something I actually knew a lot about. And someone said, Oh, can you speak up? I couldn't hear and I couldn't hear you. And it just set me back. And I thought, this will never happen again. I also think there is sometimes a tendency when someone is speaking softly for someone else in the conference room to just come right over the top. Interrupt, and that doesn't happen when you're forceful. So it's one of the basic things I tell any mentee I have, any women that I'm meeting with, just speak loudly. Make your voice heard.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Exactly. In some of her classes. And she had applied for leadership program and called me in tears and said, I just got called for the third round and I'm not qualified. And I said, You're a freshman in college. What qualifications do you think you need? But it really made me sit back and think, here is. This daughter of mine who is so capable and she's showing all the insecurities that I of course also had and that I've witnessed so many other women. So it really caused me to put pen to paper sort of a if I knew then what I know now and it was she loved it. So it was worthwhile.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So there have been studies showing that, for example, women will not raise their hands for the promotion unless they think they can tick off every single skill set, whereas men may have very few of those skills, but they raise their hand and say, I could do it. So that's definitely a gender difference.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It means that many women, especially young women, Comfortable doing the things that they know well. And unless you're willing to stretch, you're just never going to grow in your career. You don't have to know it all on day one. It's all learnable. You know, nothing that we're doing in at least in the roles that I've had is rocket science. So if you apply yourself, if you ask questions, if you really want to learn it, you can learn it. But you have to be willing to push yourself a little bit and know that the first time you do anything, whether it's speaking in front of a large group or presenting to senior people at the firm, whatever it is, it's not going to be as good as the hundredth time you do it. And that's okay.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And a lot of focus on professional development and networking and really trying to find common derailers for women and addressing those.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I was involved in the formation of it. And at the time that I joined Blackstone, only about 10% of the analyst applications, applicants, were female, and about 15% of the class was female. And so I was really interested in how we can improve that. There was a perception that somehow private equity alternatives isn't a great career for women. Not true. And so, you know, I was trying to figure out what we could do. So at the beginning, we really focused on educating young women, sophomores, juniors in college, inviting them in, teaching them what you need to know, figuring out why they weren't applying. Why we weren't hiring more and going for those solutions. Today it's light years ahead of that, you know, between 40 and 50 percent of our classes female now. Yeah, so big improvement there.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That is a good question. I don't know that social media has disrupted as much as information comes generally much more quickly than it ever did. And the expectation to have an immediate response. When I go back in time where you really had the time to think through and crunch numbers and form an opinion, today it's much harder. And like, you know, with social media, to your point, everyone's out there with a view, with an opinion. It probably does make it much more challenging.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Side. You've had compression of commissions, etc., making cash equities a less profitable business that it once was. And so while I still know very many talented research analysts, I think it's unfortunate that what they're doing has been so restricted.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Elliot Spitzer came in, looked at research. This was during the tech bubble and found that there were conflicts of interest that maybe investors didn't know about, maybe they did, but really hived off equity research from every other part of the business. And in many ways, I think it diminished the value of the equity analyst. And by and large, there's folks who had studied really probably knew these industries better than many of the management teams, if you will, working in them because they had such a good feel for the competitive landscape as well. And at the same time, you had the proliferation of the hedge fund industry. So a lot of research analysts went to the buy side, left the sell.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, it really has evolved. So in my earliest days, it was, first of all, we didn't even have Excel. And there was no way to reach clients other than meeting with them or calling them or companies for that matter. But you were really an advisor not just to investors, but also to the companies that you covered. And that endured most of my tenure. It was what I enjoyed the most, getting to know the management teams, understanding their strategies, working on, I worked on dozens of IPOs, secondary offerings, M&A transactions. And there was nothing nefarious about it. I worked closely with the investment bankers to really help the companies figure out their strategy. That all changed, if you remember.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Could be. So it's usually a 10 year fund that varies a little bit. You control the timing going in and you control the exit. So you never want to be in a position where you're forced to invest quickly or you're ever forced to sell. So there is no early reading. Companies or assets in that portfolio.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Over the typical private equity or private real estate fund, those are only accessible to qualified purchasers or institutional investors, and you're locked up for the life of the fund very deliberately. Which is seven years typically?”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Portfolio Operations Team all over the company figuring out where we can make improvements and when in the old days when those were industrial companies it was more about cost cutting today it's much more about leaning in on growth Connecting our portfolio companies to one another, making them more tech enabled, et cetera. And that's really the formula. You know, it's taking the company or the asset and applying either capital or talent to it rather than relying on the market. If all you're doing is paying more than anyone else, that's a hard way to make money.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I am a warrior by nature and I worry when valuations are high. I worry when they're low. And in my 14 years at Blackstone, I don't think that I've really sat through a meeting where anyone thought the kind of investing we do is easy. There are always challenges. Either prices are low, but no one's selling or prices are too high. I think the key is not to buy a market and to focus on the sectors that you like, the companies where you think you can affect change. And this is a key in private markets versus public. So we sign non-disclosure agreements. We get inside information, if you will. We have six months or whatever the time period is to do full due diligence. We have our”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So there are different elements to it. One is that people are mindful of ESG, but they don't want to sacrifice on returns. So when you talk to foundations and endowments, for example, very mindful of ESG, but the responses usually, that's why we want to generate the greatest returns on the portfolio so that we can then distribute the money to those causes And when it comes to individuals, by and large, it's the same. They want to support. These are topics that are important, but they don't want to really detract tremendously from returns. I don't imagine Blackstone will ever create a copycat or Me Too product. We spend quite a lot of time at the front end thinking about what will go into any of our funds. So I think when we do launch something, it will be unique in the market.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's interesting. We typically, when we venture into a new area, it's because we see an interesting investment opportunity. So we never think about it in terms of how much money can we raise. It's always how much money can we deploy. But to your question, increasingly investors are asking us about ESG investing. And it started more so outside of the US and Europe in particular. But I am increasingly asked about it in the US. And ESG is something that's infused in all of our funds and investments. It's not something that to date we've really carved out as a product, but it's certainly something we're thinking about.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You can get a feel for housing trends, office trends, and very importantly in real estate, because buildings don't just pop out of the ground, you know what supply is. And so you're always looking for supply demand imbalance. We typically don't invest in new construction. And so we want to buy at a discount to replacement value. And that's really the formula. It sounds simplistic, but it's supply demand, discount to replacement value. That is the mantra that Blackstone has stuck to everywhere in the world since the early 90s.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So there too, you have to divide it into sectors. So if you're talking about offices, for example, today you would say, wow, like how could you invest in offices actually not a big part of our portfolio, but with the pandemic and people working from home? And I would say you have to distinguish where you're investing and the type of offices. On the lending side in real estate for us, we think about are these high-end offices that are open plan that have a lot of amenities for tenants? Those would be attractive. We look at office space for life sciences companies. for production studios because one of the big themes for us is live streaming and how that's We look at where regionally we're investing. So if you use data and see where in which areas are the greatest number of ads for jobs, where are young people going”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And that certainly helps the return. But I would say really importantly, we always think about when we're underwriting what will the next buyer have to borrow at to make it work. You don't want to get lulled into this false sense of complacency where you're like, oh, I could borrow for nothing. And therefore, wow, this looks really attractive. Kind of similar to what happened to people when you think about the housing crisis, where they were just taking on way too much debt. So, you know, it's that toggle between, yes, we can borrow at very attractive rates, but that doesn't mean that we want to inflate the price of the assets that we're buying. So it's really quite a balance.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Estate, as we mentioned, where you could just get better returns, where you can apply a bit of leverage. But you don't have to extend all the way out on the risk curve to do that. You don't have to be in highly levered funds. You don't have to be in the riskiest assets. And I'm often asked, like, do you like non-traded reads? Do you like private credit? And I always say, for me, it's really not the fun structure as much as it is who is the investor putting the assets in? I mean, there's certainly not all created equally. So you want to be with a very high quality GP like Blackstone, if you will, but you want to really think about who you're entrusting your wealth or your client's wealth with. As it relates to Blackstone on The investing side, I'll put credit aside for the moment. That means that you can borrow at much better rates.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I think about the impact of low interest rates from two perspectives. One is how does it affect an investor, an individual investor or an institutional investor? And how does it affect Blackstone investing in companies and properties? So on the former, it is much harder to reach your goals, whether they're retirement or sending your kids to college or even just saving for the next few years a home, whatever, if interest rates are very low. You're earning nothing on your bank account. You're earning very little from your municipal bond portfolio, et cetera. So how do you create more wealth? And for that, individuals, institutions have been seeking yield in private credit, private”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I hope that everyone will decide to take the vaccine just for their own health. We have not said you can't work at the firm. But I think it's in the interim, you can certainly do whatever you're doing remotely, but you just, you lose the connectivity. And to me, what of the great parts of my job is actually being with the team, interacting, exchanging ideas. I think that's much harder to do when you're a box. On someone's computer”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, so we have the investing teams have by and large been back full time now for several months. For my team, I said we would remain flexible through the summer and then we'll figure out the cadence. But the vast majority of my team comes in. And there were several employees, not surprisingly, who were quite nervous, but the firm invested a lot in terms of creating our own testing mandatory testing, distancing, tracing app that we have to keep open at all times to make people feel safe in the environment that we were in.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Your clients, but equally important was to keep the team together, have everyone with full information, feel connected, even though we weren't physically in the same place. And then I didn't mention, but as importantly, was staying connected with our clients. And so we immediately launched webinars, conference calls about what we were seeing from a macro level in our portfolio companies, very transparent about what was happening in the funds, and just providing advisors and clients with the most up-to-date information that we had. And I think they appreciated that.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Going on since mid March of 2020. With my own team, I made great efforts to stay connected. Again, we were all on Zoom, not telephone, so you can actually see people. I personally added many more meetings than I had previously, regularly scheduled meetings with my sub-teams, with the leaders of my business to make sure we were connected. And we also added in a lot of virtual events, you know, whether they were virtual cocktail hours or lunches or breakfast. My children make fun of me because I did the same cooking class like five different times. So I can now make an excellent pasta sauce. But I think it was important not just to get the business done, to prosecute the business. Of course, that's important and serve.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was certainly turbulent times. We acted very quickly. So one thing that launched literally the week that we shut down in the US is John Gray, our president and COO, launched a global call for all employees, which still happens every single week. And during that meeting, we hear about macro government, what's happening in some of the portfolio companies, new investments, and the basic trends. It was also just the best mechanism for everyone at the firm to know what was going on, talk about COVID, and really around the world. And we do that on Zoom so that you're present. And again, this has now become...”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Team of more than 30 people that we then deploy right onto these companies. We have a suite of highly talented former CEOs, executives who partner with those CEOs who again are often entrepreneurs who may have not usually have not taken their company and built it into some major global institutions. So I would distinguish it in a lot of those aspects. We're coming in much later. We're not saying this technology works or doesn't. It's already proven. And then we're bringing something to much greater scale.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So by and large, we have not been venture investors in the way that you're thinking about In part because the outcomes are binary. And when we're making an investment, we always try to think about protecting on the downside. And that's quite difficult to do in a venture deal. So I'm distinguishing that from growth equity because these are larger companies where the entrepreneur doesn't want to cede control, but is attracted to what we can bring in helping her or him really scale the business. So again, I'll go back to a company like, you know, Bumble or where we made an investment in Oatley. And what is it we bring? We have this massive portfolio of companies and properties that we can introduce them to. We have a data science.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And so you would find over the firm's history and continuing today our various businesses may invest in a different part of the capital structure. They may invest in different companies, but they're all focused on this idea of good neighborhoods.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To invest in those types of assets. We really like life sciences. You mentioned uncorrelated. That's an area that is uncorrelated. And we partner with major pharmaceutical companies. We invest in their phase three trials, which have very good high percentage chance of success. Cloud computing and there's a lot of different neighborhoods that we like. And then I would say also we like the industries that serve those. So once we find a theme, something like life sciences, we're also then interested in owning the real estate that's catering to life sciences companies. So the intellectual capital really moves through the firm and we're able to, whether it's growth equity, private equity, real estate, life sciences, credit run that all the way through.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“10 years. So that informs not just what you invest in, but what you avoid. So we have not been investing in closed malls, but we have been buying up warehouse assets, especially first mile, those that are closest to clients, again, everywhere around the world. Housing. There's a housing shortage really in a lot of different regions, and just meaning that there hasn't been enough supply. And when you think about all of the delays caused by shutdowns due to COVID, it's just exasperating those trends even more so. When you have supply demand imbalances, that's usually pretty good for appreciation. We coming through the financial crisis had created the largest single family housing owned to rent company, and we're continuing.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Sure. So we tend to be very thematic at Blackstone. So a lot of research comes into play up front. We figure out where we have the most conviction and then we're not afraid to go all in. And importantly, if you think about investing as pattern recognition and you think about everything we own, real estate companies, all different types all over the world, it's just a lot of information flow that comes into play. So today areas off of themes like the digitization of everything. So if you think about our investment in bumble or ancestry was on that. In e-commerce, this has been a long running theme through the firm over the last”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And we created the largest solar farm on any multifamily housing development in the US there. That's one example. And I would say around the other areas, when it comes to governance, and by that, I assume you mean diversity on boards. We have likewise a commitment there for at least 30%. Representation by women underrepresented groups. And again, for our own company as well as for our portfolio companies.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So we've really taken a holistic approach both for our own company as well as the companies that we own inside our various funds. And to start with the environmental, even going back many years now, we looked at efficiency around energy and water, et cetera. So, for example, if you own hotels thinking about what kind of light bulbs, where do you set the temperature, things of that nature. Flushers on toilets probably a little less sexy, but actually important. And today we've made a commitment that for any property or company that we control, we will reduce emissions by at least 15%. I don't know if you know in one of the portfolios, we actually own Styown here in New York.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Create funds around that for individuals that deliver good returns and importantly, we've been able to create structures that also work outside of the US. And so both of these areas, whether it's private real estate or private credit, have appeal right now in the US, in Europe, in Latin America, in Asia, and we're able to service those folks because our business is of scale on the private wealth side and also of scale in terms of how much we can invest.”
2021-08-27 · Masters in Business · Joan Solotar on Private Equity Funds (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source