Apollo’s Slok: ’no alpha left’ as IPOs grow long in the tooth

Group 1 - The number of public companies is decreasing, with the median age of newly public companies rising from five years in 1999 to 14 years today [1][2] - Companies are choosing to stay private longer to avoid scrutiny, compliance costs, and quarterly performance pressures, facilitated by venture capital and private equity [2][3] - The public market is increasingly dominated by a few large stocks, leading to a decline in active management and a concentration of returns in mega-cap tech companies [3][4] Group 2 - Investors seeking higher returns may need to shift focus from traditional stock-picking in public markets to private markets, where risks are higher but opportunities for differentiation exist [4]