Bits & Basis Points

The 2025 Private-Markets Playbook: Why the Easy-Money Era Is Over (and That’s Good)

Twenty years ago, in an "Entrepreneurship through Acquisition" class, the professor urged us: "This is your best time to take risk. Your opportunity cost will never be this low again." …

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM July 16, 2025

Cost & Fee Management

The Invisible Tax Stealing Your Retirement

(What I wish my 25-year-old self had known) Last week, I was cleaning out old files when I found my first retirement plan statement from 1998. Twenty-five-year-old me had just…

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM July 1, 2025

Private Markets

The Magic Show Problem: Why Your Private Equity Returns May Feel Like an Illusion

While visiting Pier 39 in San Francisco with my family, a street magician made a $20 bill multiply into $100 right before our eyes—a 400% return in seconds! My son was…

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM June 18, 2025

Manager Selection Private Markets

What My Local Pizzeria Taught Me About Private Equity’s Biggest Myth

Our family’s Friday ritual was pizza at El Grotto, a tiny place where the pizzaiolo knew our order before we sat down. Then came the glowing newspaper reviews. Lines snaked out the…

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM June 10, 2025

Risk Management

Your “Unprecedented Times” Aren’t That Unprecedented – Timeless Strategies for Navigating Uncertainty

We love to complain about how uncertain everything is today. "These unprecedented times!" we cry. "Everything's so unpredictable now!" But here's the thing: uncertainty isn't new. Consider the ancient merchant…

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM June 3, 2025

Private Markets

What My Old Bathtub Taught Me About Evergreen Funds

When we moved into our nearly 100-year-old Tudor home, the kids were most excited about the classic clawfoot bathtub upstairs. On our first night, after a long day of unpacking,…

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM May 27, 2025

Cyber Security

When the CFO Isn’t Real: Pass-Phrases Are the Last Line of Defense

A $25 Million Wake-Up Call On an otherwise ordinary Monday in February 2024, a finance clerk at a multinational firm’s Hong Kong office joined an urgent video meeting. Staring back…

Marius A. Holzer, CFA, CAIA, CIPM May 22, 2025