All right, welcome back. Let's talk about our calls of the day. Uh, Evercore has taken down the price targets of a couple of private equity names.Blackstone to 180 from 197. They're still outperform on the name. They just reduce uh their enthusiasm, I guess.Apollo goes to 145 from 160. Also outperform. So, they clearly like the the stocks.Blackstone, by the way, reports tomorrow morning Serat before the bell. >> What do you think here. Look, I like these companies for the long term.Apollo, Blackstone, KKR, ...

We're going to start with the Fed, the reaction to it. Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson is with us live here at Case. It's nice to see you.Welcome back. Great to be here. The market seemed to move up a little bit.You you think that was on the the notion of ending the runoff on the on the balance sheet. I mean, what did you make of the the the brief at least headlines that Steve was able to give us here. You know, actually, let me step back for a second and say, all right, so we all know the Fed has two ...

Core Viewpoint - The discussion centers around the Federal Reserve's policies, labor market dynamics, inflation, and the potential for growth in alternative investments, highlighting a generally bullish outlook on the economy despite some concerns. Group 1: Federal Reserve and Labor Market - The Federal Reserve has two main mandates: employment and inflation, with recent studies suggesting a lower equilibrium job creation number of about 30,000 jobs per month, down from 100,000 pre-COVID and 250,000 during the pandemic [2][3] - The labor participation rate has decreased, and immigration has significantly dropped, impacting the number of people needing jobs to maintain equilibrium [3] - Productivity has increased to 2.5% from a decade-long average of 1.5%, indicating that the labor market may be healthier than perceived, with fewer workers needed to sustain productivity levels [4] Group 2: Inflation and Economic Stimulus - Tariffs are contributing to inflation, and upcoming tax refunds totaling $150 billion in February are expected to stimulate the economy [5] - The market may be overly optimistic regarding potential interest rate cuts, but there remains a bullish sentiment due to fiscal and monetary policies [6] Group 3: Market Performance and AI - The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have shown significant year-to-date gains of 12.5% and 17%, respectively, indicating a strong market performance despite some corrections [7] - The discussion on AI suggests that while there may be concerns about a bubble, the market is still in the early stages of AI integration, with companies primarily focused on improving existing processes [9] Group 4: Alternative Investments - Franklin Templeton has approximately $260 billion allocated to alternatives out of $1.6 trillion, indicating a growing interest in alternative investments among institutions [12][13] - There is a significant opportunity for individual investors to access alternative investments, which currently only account for about 3% of advisor clients' portfolios, with expectations that this could rise to 10-15% in the next five years [16][17]

Industry Overview & Trends - The alternatives industry has grown significantly in the last 15-16 years, becoming more institutionalized with professional management and reporting processes [2] - Private credit may see a boom in an economic downturn due to big lenders' hesitancy and favorable terms for lenders [4] - Technology-focused investments are relatively uncorrelated to macro volatility due to secular trends [5] - Access to private equity is expanding from institutional investors to high net worth individuals and potentially 401(k)s [5][6] - Liquidity is a key issue in alternatives, requiring matching investor liquidity horizons with asset durations [6][7] Market Size & Opportunities - US private equity industry is valued at $3-4 trillion, compared to $8-10 trillion in 401(k)s, highlighting the potential of accessing the 401(k) capital pool [6] - Public markets in technology have approximately 700 companies, while the private market target is 20,000 companies, indicating broader opportunities in private markets [9][10] - A significant portion (20-30 trillion) of the public market value is concentrated in a few companies (the magnificent seven), suggesting diversification benefits in private markets [10] Investment Considerations - Alternative investments can be suitable for regular accredited investors depending on their profile and percentage of exposure [8] - Investing in private markets allows access to a broader range of companies compared to public markets [10]