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<div type="image" title="Data from RBI suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024." msid="115250619" hostid="261" sizebytes="118350" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Data from RBI suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “Ye le beta, humare khaandani sone ke gehne. Ise girvi rakhva de, shayad kuch paise aa jaye ghar main.” How many times have we seen similar dialogues repeat itself in Bollywood films of the 70s and 80s—abject poverty and a frail-looking old mother pleading to her son to pawn the family’s heirloom <keyword id="18712" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold" source="Orion">gold</keyword> ornaments to a jeweller, all to get a few bucks? Well, if you’d ask that son in 2024, he’d rather hit the loan button on his <keyword id="19977340" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demat" source="keywords">Demat</keyword> account than pawn his mother’s gold jewellery. Given how Indians are rapidly resorting to taking loans against their investments in shares and mutual funds, these might as well be a cherished family heirloom in today’s time. Fair warning though; it's not as if gold and loans against it are going down in India’s lending scene. It's very much the opposite, shining brighter than ever! The secured loan category is having its time in the spotlight, and people are certainly looking beyond land and property to get their hands on some extra monies! But what is funding the steep rise behind these loans? And are they as failsafe and secure as they’re made out to be? We decode for you in this week’s Simply Put. <h2>The great Indian pawning party</h2>Pawning one’s gold has been, by far, the OG Indian financial move to get a loan. That continues well into 2024, and apparently, more so when India decides to wed and celebrate! Data from <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024. It looks like Gold took the motto of rise and shine too seriously! Table 1: Growth in gold loans <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amount (In Rs crore) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2022 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">85,009 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2023 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">89,370 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2023 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">97,426 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2024 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,02,562 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2024 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,47,081 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Source: RBI data While the world continues to be riled up in multiple geopolitical crises in 2024, gold has been making merry of these tough times. Thus far this year, domestic gold prices have grown by 23%, outperforming benchmark indices like Nifty and Sensex by a mile, which have gone up by 9.85% and 8.86%, respectively. The growth in gold loan disbursal rates month on month this year could also put Nifty and Sensex’s growth to shame. In just September 2024, gold loans grew an astounding 51%, up from 40.9% in August, 30.5% in June, and just 14.8% in March. <h2>Hey, wait up for me, says <keyword id="23953567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="las" source="keywords">LAS</keyword></h2>In lockstep with the elder, gold loan sibling, advances against shares and bonds have also been inching up since 2022. Data from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notes that as of September 2022, the outstanding quantum of loans that were taken against shares (LAS) and bonds stood at Rs 7,397.94 crores. This inched up to Rs 7,764 crore in September 2023. Come 2024, and it looked like this was LAS’ time to shine. Loans swiftly skyrocketed, with outstanding loans in this category going up from Rs 8,492 crore in March 2022 to a staggering Rs 9,546 crore at the end of September 2024. Naturally, the smoke of LAS has its fire in the record inflows that Indians are pouring into the stock market and mutual funds month on month. Per AMFI (<keyword id="20090034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="association-of-mutual-funds" source="keywords">Association of Mutual Funds</keyword> in India), the net AUM (assets under management) of India’s mutual fund industry grew to Rs 67,25,614.61 crores in October 2024, up from Rs 67,09,259.24 crores in September 2024. Even the number of retail mutual fund folios, which include equity, hybrid, and solution-oriented mutual funds, burgeoned to 17,23,52,296 in October, as compared to 16,81,61,366 in September. The same goes for stock investments in India, where the number of new demat accounts that are added every month just simply refuses to climb down. As of last month, total demat accounts in the country stood at 17.9 crore, which is more than the entire population of full-fledged nations like Japan (12.45 crore), Russia (14.38 crore), and Bangladesh (17.3 crore). In fact, since February this year, the monthly growth of LAS has been hitting double digits. From 11.3% in March to 21.6% in May to 26.8% in August, growth in LAS has been exceptional, hitting 22.9% in September this year. For context, monthly growth in the LAS segment was at a mere 5% in September 2023. <h2>What's driving the growth?</h2>It's a win-win for both the bank and the customer. Customers love them because LAS is available at a lower interest rate compared to unsecured personal loans. You can get a loan at an interest rate of anywhere between 9 and 12% by pledging your gold, MF units, or shares. Compare this to over 10-28% rates, which is the range where unsecured personal loans charge interest. Banks love <keyword id="827883" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="secured-loans" source="Orion">secured loans</keyword> since they are well-secured. In case you default on paying back, the bank can sell off your gold, shares, or mutual fund units to recover the amount. This takes a lot of stress off the banks, which are already dealing with secured loans’ riskier sibling-unsecured lending. High NPAs (non-performing assets) and non-payments in the unsecured borrowing space have already put RBI on red alert, which is why the apex bank is tightening the screws on unsecured lending, which was well on its way to becoming a ticking time bomb. As a result, credit growth has moderated to 12.8% YoY in October, as against the 19.3% rise recorded in the year-ago period. Yet it's not like the banks won't feel the heat. Analysts at Nomura note that personal loan delinquencies in India that have been overdue by over 90 days rose to 5.1% in the last financial year, as opposed to just 3.9% in the year prior. <h2>How does it work?</h2>Both these loans work on a similar principle: Your loan amount is equal to a certain percentage of the actual market value of your asset. This is known as the <keyword id="20051485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ltv" source="keywords">LTV</keyword> (loan-to-value ratio). In the case of gold and debt mutual funds, RBI mandates that this LTV be about 75-80%. So, for every Rs 100 of gold or debt mutual fund unit you pledge, your maximum loan amount cannot exceed Rs 80. If you pledge gold, which has a market value of Rs 10 lakh, you can take a loan of up to Rs 8,00,000. In the case of shares and mutual fund units, this limit is set at 50%. So, your shares worth Rs 5,00,000 can only get you a loan worth Rs 2,50,000. But the bright side? You can continue earning returns on your investments and pay interest only on the amount you use, since this loan works as an overdraft facility. <h2>Super safe, you say?</h2>Interest rates on both of these loans are very much dependent on the market value of the asset, which wildly fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. So, in case the value of your asset falls, you’ll have to keep a margin or more of the same asset in order to continue with the loan and maintain the LTV balance. Failure to do so could mean the bank can even sell off your asset. Says financial planner Nema Chaya Buch. “Yes, LAS offers easy availability of funds since these loans come with a lower interest rate as compared to personal loans. Also, you continue to earn average returns of 10–13% on your equity investments. But the downside is, in case of emergency, those pledged securities cannot be sold. Also, if the equity market goes down, then the bank may ask for additional collateral. Raghvendra Nath, MD, Ladderup Wealth Management notes that taking a LAS is best when the value of your securities has appreciated significantly. “This allows you to maximize the loan amount based on your collateral while also addressing financial needs without having to liquidate your investment portfolio. However, there are notable disadvantages to consider. The market risk is significant; a substantial decline in market value could lead to margin calls, which may incur fees and charges if there are delays or prepayments, ultimately increasing the effective cost of borrowing. Furthermore, failure to make timely payments could result in the loss of your assets.”. Umesh Mohanan, ED &amp; CEO, of Indel Money, cautions that one should have a sufficient quantity of gold to get the loan amount one wants. "According to the current RBI rules, the loan applicant/borrower can draw up to 75% of the total market value of the collateral/gold jewellery. So, always carry a sufficient quantity of gold based on one’s loan requirement. “The most important thing is that the valuation of the gold depends on the purity of the gold. If the borrower pledges gold with higher purity, such as 24 carats or 22 carats, he will get the maximum loan amount," he adds.

Simply Put: Secured Loans 2.0 — why more and more Indians are turning to gold, shares and mutual funds to get loans

New Delhi, Asset management companies launched 212 <keyword id="20372350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-fund-offerings" source="keywords">new fund offerings</keyword> mobilising Rs 63,854 crore in 2023, marginally higher from previous year, on the back of significant uptrends in broader markets. In comparison, Asset Management Companies (AMCs) garnered Rs 62,187 crore through 228 New Fund Offerings (NFOs) in 2022. Further, they collected Rs 99,704 crore in 2021 and Rs 53,703 crore in 2020, according to data compiled by <keyword id="20372349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="morningstar-india" source="keywords">Morningstar India</keyword>. "The trend towards the financialisation of assets in India is unmistakable. Aligned with changing consumption behaviours and a need for a higher standard of living, investors recognise the importance of long-term investing. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the necessity for financial planning and the creation of liquid assets to address emergencies and pave the way for wealth-building," FYERS Research said in its report. It further said that "despite indices exhibiting strength, propelled by robust economic activity, steady <keyword id="19951327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst" source="keywords">GST</keyword> collections, and confidence in government reforms and policies, anticipating a similar outperformance in 2024 may not be prudent. Valuations across various market capitalisations look elevated, advocating a cautious approach to direct equities in the short term". As per the FYERS report, the January-March period of 2023 saw the highest number of NFOs at 57. However, the peak fund mobilisation occurred in the July-September period, totalling Rs 22,049 crore. Additionally, 29 thematic or sectoral funds raised an aggregate of Rs 17,946 crore in 2023. With an increased risk appetite for equities and awareness of products and offerings, retail investors opted for higher-risk products like thematic and sectoral funds compared to other products. Usually, NFOs come during a surging market when investor sentiments are high and optimistic. The NFOs were floated to capitalise on the mood of investors and attract their investment as they were willing to invest at that time. Industry experts said that the stock market performance along with the positive investor sentiments led to higher fund mobilisation through NFOs in 2023. In the year 2023, Nifty 50 index delivered a return of 20 per cent, majorly supported by earnings growth. <keyword id="19994732" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nifty-midcap" source="keywords">Nifty Midcap</keyword> and <keyword id="20118967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nifty-smallcap" source="keywords">Nifty Smallcap</keyword> indices recorded impressive returns of 47 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) infused a substantial Rs 1.7 lakh crore into the market and the infusion played a pivotal role in propelling Indian equities beyond the USD 4 trillion market capitalization milestone. Overall, the mutual fund industry saw a net inflow of Rs 2.74 lakh crore in 2023 as compared to an inflow of over Rs 71,000 crore in the preceding year. The huge inflow could be on the back of sustained investors' interest in equity funds, arbitrage funds, and index funds &amp; ETFs. Debt schemes experienced a net outflow of Rs 46,100 crore last year, while equity schemes saw substantial inflows of Rs 1.62 lakh crore, closely followed by hybrid category schemes at Rs 93,208 crore.

Mutual funds collects ₹63,854 cr via new fund offers in 2023

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Kong offers a cloud-based API, the pipes through which much of the internet flows.</li><li>The startup is valued at around $2 billion in a new funding round led by Tiger Global Management, sources say.</li></ul>Kong, which offers cloud-based application programming interfaces, is valued at around $2 billion in a new funding round led by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-global-openai-latest-funding-round-2024-10">Tiger Global Management,</a> according to two sources familiar with the matter.The sources asked to remain anonymous because they were sharing confidential information. Kong did not respond to a request for comment. Tiger Global declined to comment.Kong last raised $80 million in Series D funding in 2020, which valued the startup at $1.4 billion. This round was also led by Tiger, according to Pitchbook data. Sapphire Ventures, Lombardstreet Ventures, Index Ventures, CRV, Andreessen Horowitz, and Notable Capital also participated in that round. Other past investors include Goldman Sachs. All told, the company has raised $268 million, excluding this latest round of funding. Founded in 2009 as Mashape in an Italian garage by Augusto "Aghi" Marietti and Marco Palladino, Kong spun out in 2017 and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://konghq.com/company/press-room/press-release/100m-arr">boasted </a>of having over $100 million in annual recurring revenue last year.APIs are the pipes through which much of the modern internet flows, and Kong counts PayPal, Nasdaq, and Volvo among its customers."It's basically become the nervous system of the internet," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-kong-surpassed-100-million-in-annual-recurring-revenue-2023-12">Marietti told BI last year.</a>Last week, Tiger Global also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-global-openai-latest-funding-round-2024-10">doubled down on OpenAI,</a> investing in the ChatGPT maker's massive <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-investors-latest-funding-round-2024-10">new $6.6 billion funding round.</a>

Cloud API startup Kong valued at around $2 billion in a new funding round led by Tiger Global

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bipartisan support is growing for a US sovereign wealth fund.</li><li>The Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes money to Alaska residents annually, could be a model.</li></ul>Bipartisan momentum is building around a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-and-biden-us-should-have-a-sovereign-wealth-fund-2024-9">sovereign wealth fund that could help the United States</a> reduce its national debt or fund ambitious projects.At the White House, President Joe Biden's top aides have circulated plans for a fund to finance national security interests. And former President Donald Trump recently called for a similar state-owned investment fund to finance "great national endeavors" during a campaign stop at the Economic Club of New York.It is unclear how an American fund would be funded or how it would operate. However, lawmakers might have something of a model in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-permanent-fund-basic-income">The Alaska Permanent Fund</a>, which distributes the money it makes to the state's residents as annual dividends."The fund was initially established with revenue from mineral extraction, primarily oil, but within a few years after its initiation, its primary source of revenue is investment returns," Sarah Cowan, executive director of the Cash Transfer Lab, previously told Business Insider. "It diversifies the Alaskan economy because, at this juncture, the revenue from this fund primarily does not come from oil."Alaska's fund offers benefits that mimic a universal basic income — a no-strings-attached, recurring payment distributed to people regardless of socioeconomic status. But there are some key differences. For one, the dividend doesn't come out of taxes; it's paid only annually and doesn't equate to a livable wage.Federal lawmakers likely see a sovereign wealth fund serving a different purpose, like supporting industries or financing supply chain initiatives. Creating one at the national level also comes with more legislative hurdles."Typically, many countries went through special law making to create a SWF, defining the SWF's source of capital, investment mandate, and supervision system," Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU and the author of The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds Are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy, wrote to Business Insider by email. "Therefore, it's not a simple corporate setup. It will involve lots of collaborative work between the executive and legislative branches — after the election."Sovereign wealth funds — like Alaska's or Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, which is the largest in the world — are often funded by wealth generated from state-owned natural resources. The issue is that "natural resources in the US are mostly owned by the states," Ma said. So, consolidating those revenue streams might require some back and forth.

The US is considering a sovereign wealth fund. Alaska already has one, and it's funding a universal basic income.

New Delhi: <keyword id="22803368" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smartworks-Coworking-Spaces" source="keywords">Smartworks Coworking Spaces</keyword> Ltd has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Sebi" meta.hostid="345" meta.entityid="Sebi">Sebi</keyword> to raise funds through an <keyword id="19913114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="initial-public-offering" source="keywords">initial public offering</keyword> (IPO). The proposed initial share sale is a combination of a <keyword id="20953853" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fresh-issue" source="keywords">fresh issue</keyword> of equity shares worth Rs 550 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of 67.59 lakh shares by promoters, according to the <keyword id="20076796" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Draft-Red-Herring-Prospectus" source="keywords">Draft Red Herring Prospectus</keyword> (DRHP). The city-based company may consider raising Rs 110 crore through a <keyword id="22244028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pre-IPO-placement" source="keywords">pre-IPO placement</keyword>. If such placement is undertaken, the amount raised will be deducted from the total fresh issue size. Proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 282.30 crore will be used for capital expenditure related to the fit-outs in new centres and security deposits for these new centres, Rs 140 crore will be allocated for payment of loans and the remaining funds will be utilized for general corporate purposes. Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd is a leading platform for office experiences and managed campuses. It specialises in leasing large, bare-shell properties in prime locations and transforming them into fully serviced, tech-enabled campuses with modern amenities. These campuses include cafeterias, sports zones, gyms, crA"ches, medical centres, and more, offering a modern and attractive work environment. The company cater to businesses of all sizes, with a focus on mid-to-large companies that need over 300 seats. The company is concentrated in cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Hyderabad, Gurugram and Chennai. India's commercial office space was about 841.2 million square feet as of March 31, 2024, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 6.71 per cent to 1,079.3 million square feet by the end of 2027, as per the draft papers. Flexible workspaces have become a key part of modern work culture, supporting different working styles and adding flexibility to the office market. JM Financial Ltd, BOB Capital Markets Ltd, IIFL Securities Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd are responsible for managing the company's IPO process.

Smartworks Coworking Spaces files IPO papers with Sebi; eyes Rs 550 crore via fresh issue

New Delhi: <keyword id="19904868" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ecom-Express" source="keywords">Ecom Express</keyword> Ltd has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="keywords">Sebi</keyword> to garner Rs 2,600 crore through an initial share-sale. The company's <keyword id="19913114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="initial-public-offering" source="keywords">initial public offering</keyword> (<keyword id="19898327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPO" source="keywords">IPO</keyword>) comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,284.50 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of shares valued Rs 1,315.50 crore by promoters and other shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Proceeds from the fresh capital to the tune of Rs 387.44 crore will be used for setting up new processing centres with automation and new fulfilment centres, Rs 73.71 crore for computers and IT equipment, Rs 239.23 crore for enhancing technology, data science capabilities, and cloud infrastructure, and Rs 87.92 crore for payment of debt. Also, the remaining funds will be used for general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions, according to the draft papers filed on Wednesday. The company may consider raising Rs 257 crore through a pre-IPO placement. If such placement is undertaken, the amount raised will be deducted from the total fresh issue size. Ecom Express operates a pan-India express logistics network that handles first-mile pick-up, mid-mile transportation, last-mile delivery, returns, and warehousing services. By offering essential logistics infrastructure and using technology, the company connect digital retailers and <keyword id="19990771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="keywords">e-commerce</keyword> platforms with consumers across the country. According to RedSeer report, the <keyword id="22803827" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-e-commerce-market" source="keywords">Indian e-commerce market</keyword> is projected to grow significantly, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent over the next five years. It is expected to increase from Rs 5.1 lakh crore in 2024 to Rs 12.5-13.5 lakh crore by 2029. Growth is notably strong in Tier 2+ regions, which are expected to account for 70-80 per cent of B2C e-commerce shipments by 2029, up from 62 per cent in 2024, the report added. Axis Capital Ltd, IIFL Securities Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and UBS Securities India Private Ltd are the book running lead managers to the company's public issue.

Ecom Express files papers with Sebi for Rs 2,600-crore IPO

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Hello! A submersible superyacht sounds like it should belong to a supervillain in an animated movie. But an Austrian company says it's a real possibility, and it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/submersible-superyacht-for-mega-wealth-underwater-luxury-migaloo-shark-rich-2024-5">already in talks with potential buyers</a>.On the agenda:<ul><li>Silicon Valley is betting on a Goldman prodigy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-forever-jan-sramek-goldman-sachs-silicon-valley-city-future-2024-4">to build the city of the future</a>.</li><li>The more you earn, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-slump-professional-white-collar-jobs-recession-high-salary-2024-4">harder it is to find a job right now</a>.</li><li>Big Tech has a big <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-green-card-applications-pause-2024-5">green-card problem</a>.</li><li>The hedge-fund industry's newest rock stars <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-business-development-job-citadel-millennium-point72-bds-2024-4">don't manage money</a>.</li></ul>But first: Why Wall Street is so happy to see <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-today-light-april-jobs-report-bond-yields-tumbling-2024-5">the job market slowing down</a>.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today-sunday-edition">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/app">here.</a><div type="image" title="stock market job market" height="1414" width="2121" msid="109861416" hostid="261" sizebytes="97348"></div><h2>This week's dispatch</h2>Job market slowdownThe US economy added <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-market-april-unemployment-rate-job-growth-wages-2024-5">175,000 jobs</a> in April, falling short of expectations for the first time in six months and showing a steep drop from the revised 315,000 figure for March.That sent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-market-april-unemployment-rate-job-growth-wages-2024-5">stocks soaring</a> and bond yields plunging. Why? A higher number had the potential to push any rate cuts from the Federal Reserve further out into the future. A lower number would signal cracks in economic growth and hint at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stagflation-us-economy-gdp-growth-outlook-recession-forecast-inflation-rates-2024-4">stagflation</a>.Instead, investors took the not-too-high, not-too-low hiring numbers as a sign that the hoped for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-soft-landing-odds-economy-inflation-job-market-goldman-2024-3">soft landing</a> for the economy is still on the cards, despite sticky inflation."In our view, the softening trend in labor markets will make it easier for the Fed to cut rates," Brian Rose, a senior US economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, wrote.While investors might be happy with the jobs numbers, they're likely to do little for the economic mood. Wage growth slowed while unemployment picked up. White-collar workers are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-slump-professional-white-collar-jobs-recession-high-salary-2024-4">finding it harder to get hired</a>.It's a reminder that good news for the stock market isn't always good news for workers.<div type="image" title="Jan Sramek standing in wide field of grass with powerlines in the and a wooden shed in the back" height="4000" width="5998" msid="109861417" hostid="261" sizebytes="1924570"></div><h2>Big Tech's urban hero</h2>Jan Sramek quietly became the largest landowner in Solano County, a sparsely populated area wedged between Napa and Sacramento that he hopes will one day become California Forever.Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, is backed by a who's who of Silicon Valley billionaire investors. Tech barons from Reid Hoffman to Marc Andreessen are betting on him to make the city of the future — the question is whether he can pull it off.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-forever-jan-sramek-goldman-sachs-silicon-valley-city-future-2024-4">Meet the man behind California Forever</a>.<div type="image" title="People standing in line near a street sign that says &quot;slow&quot;" height="500" width="1000" msid="109861419" hostid="261" sizebytes="50296"></div><h2>The white-collar recession</h2>For people who've recently searched for a job, the market appears to be brutal.That's especially true if you're a relatively high-earning worker. New data from Vanguard shows a two-tier job market: one divided between a blue-collar boom and a white-collar recession.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-slump-professional-white-collar-jobs-recession-high-salary-2024-4">Why high-earners can't find work</a>.Also read:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-negotiate-job-offer-tight-market-microsoft-vp-2024-5">10 things you should be negotiating every time you land a job offer, according to ex-Microsoft HR VP</a><div type="image" title="An illustration of an evaporating green card." height="960" width="1920" msid="109861420" hostid="261" sizebytes="154248"></div>Big Tech's green card problemAs competition dwindles and the green-card process gets tougher, some Big Tech companies are backing off green-card applications.The situation is making it harder for foreign tech workers to stay in the US. One top immigration attorney said overseas candidates may want to search far beyond Silicon Valley and New York City for jobs in the industry.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-green-card-applications-pause-2024-5">More on that here</a>.Also read:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-requests-update-immigration-rules-hire-top-ai-talent-2024-5">Google says immigration rules are making it hard to hire top AI talent</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-startups-sponsor-h1b-work-visas-2024-1">Here are the 25 startups that sponsor the most H-1B visas for immigrants looking for work</a></li></ul><h2>The portfolio-manager whisperers</h2>The new power figures in hedge funds do not manage money. Instead, these business development professionals scout and evaluate investment talent.These so-called BD roles, once an under-the-radar gig, have become coveted, multimillion-dollar jobs amid the war for talent.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-business-development-job-citadel-millennium-point72-bds-2024-4">Inside the rise of the business-development professional</a>.Also read:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/april-hedge-fund-performance-citadel-millennium-schonfeld-point72-walleye-2024-5">Citadel's stock-pickers lead the way in April — here's how hedge fund competitors fared</a></li></ul>This week's quote:"Satya (Nadella) and the entire senior leadership team lean on (Bill) Gates very significantly. His opinion is sought every time we make a major change."- A Microsoft executive on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-still-pulling-strings-microsoft-ai-copilot-chatgpt-2024-4">Gates' continued presence</a>.<h2>More of this week's top reads:</h2><ul><li>Endless Shrimp didn't kill Red Lobster. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-lobster-endless-shrimp-bankruptcy-private-equity-debt-real-estate-2024-5">Wall Street did</a>.</li><li>Joseph Stiglitz explains why <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joseph-stiglitz-book-interview-on-america-appetite-for-trump-policies-2024-5">America's appetite for Trump endures</a>.</li><li>The US's major job hubs are now cities like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/job-growth-housing-costs-coastal-cities-sunbelt-charleston-south-carolina-2024-5">Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina</a>.</li><li>Tesla tells the EV industry: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teslas-supercharger-changes-hurt-wider-ev-industry-2024-5">Fend for yourselves</a>.</li><li>Quit hosting PowerPoint <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/powerpoint-parties-trend-tiktok-gen-z-work-pandemic-socializing-2024-5">parties with your friends</a>.</li><li>Gen Z is outpacing boomers on income and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-millennials-boomers-generations-wealth-income-homeownership-inflation-interest-2024-5">millennials on home ownership</a>.</li><li>Biden used ChatGPT for the first time. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-chatgpt-ai-openai-sam-altman-executive-order-2024-5">Here's how that went.</a>The Insider Today team: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/matt-turner">Matt Turner</a>, deputy editor-in-chief, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jordan-parker-erb">Jordan Parker Erb</a>, editor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/lisa-ryan">Lisa Ryan</a>, executive editor, in New York.</li></ul>

The new power figures in hedge funds do not manage money

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Job titles in the $4.3 trillion hedge-fund industry vary greatly from firm to firm.</li><li>The lack of uniformity allows both firms and employees to present themselves in the best light.</li></ul>The well-publicized battle between David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital and its former employee James Fishback can seem, to industry outsiders especially, a bit trivial.While Fishback's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greenlight-former-macro-analyst-sues-david-einhorn-2024-10">most recent legal filing claims age discrimination</a> and asks for at least $5 million from his old firm, the genesis of the messy dispute involves Fishback's title during the two-plus years he spent at Greenlight.He said he was the firm's head of macro. The firm said he was just an analyst — and an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/david-einhorns-files-lawsuit-against-james-fishback-2024-6">unproductive one at that</a>. Lawsuits, spiteful tweets, and plenty of memes <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/david-einhorn-greenlight-lawsuit-james-fishback-2024-5">ensued</a>.While the disagreement is on the extreme end of the spectrum, hedge-fund industry veterans say title confusion, inflation, and misalignment are rampant.Titles within banks and private equity firms follow a de facto industry standard. A managing director at Morgan Stanley does more or less the same thing an MD at Goldman Sachs does.This is not the case in the hedge-fund world.While the biggest managers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-prime-brokerage-novick-shaw-startup-hedge-fund-mistakes-2024-9">have become more institutional</a>, the $4.3 trillion industry is more opaque and founder-led than other sections of finance.Hedge funds are a disparate group spanning firms with thousands of people worldwide and new launches with a pair of analysts and a Bloomberg terminal. This lack of uniformity and the relentless war for talent has firms and employees alike taking advantage of the ambiguity.Fishback, for example, references not an offer letter or an internal HR system to prove his title in his legal filings but an email sent to a third party by Greenlight's chief operating officer offhandedly referring to Fishback as the firm's "head of macro."Recruiters and hiring managers at big-name funds say candidates constantly give themselves more prestigious-sounding titles on LinkedIn. A dozen headhunters, fund executives, consultants, and others who spoke with Business Insider argued that as firms build out the non-investment sides of their businesses to support their growth, titles will only get more inflated."It's extremely tough to know who's real and who isn't," said one longtime recruiter who mostly focuses on quant firms and large multistrategy managers."An MD title at the banks, that means something. An MD title at a hedge fund doesn't mean anything."<h2 id="731f7cfe-0e1f-42aa-921c-ef631afc0183">Global heads, chairmen, investment officers, and more</h2>As one person who works in a hiring position at a large multistrategy firm told BI, "titles are free" — and firms use them. Industry insiders said a title could be a carrot for recruiting or retention, especially as the biggest funds become more institutional and add more non-investment roles to their firms.More than 200 people who work at the $64 billion firm Citadel have a title on LinkedIn that deems them the "head" of some part of the business, for example. That's roughly one out of every 14 people within the hedge fund — and doesn't include its founder, Ken Griffin; its chief operating officer, Gerald Beeson; and others on the leadership team.A person close to the Miami-based firm said Citadel's flat structure means that no matter an individual's title, the internal expectations to produce are very high.This person added that Citadel's pursuit of top external talent — the firm just hired Apple's top recruiter, Sjoerd Gehring, to be its chief people officer, and it poached Google's Paul Darrah this year to be its chief workplace officer — means some accomplished employees receive big titles to match their experience.Jose Gamez, for example, spent nearly 20 years working as a chef at several Four Seasons hotels, including five years leading the kitchen at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-citadel-securities-four-seasons-florida.html">the one in Palm Beach that Citadel Securities took over</a> during the pandemic. He's now the global head of culinary and executive chef for Citadel and Citadel Securities.Even for investing talent, titles can be tricky to understand from the outside, in many cases, because of the differing internal structures across the industry that obscure who actually makes trading decisions.Rokos has two dozen employees with the title "investment officer" in their LinkedIn profiles. A person familiar with the London-based firm said that while these employees sit somewhere between an analyst and a portfolio manager, the fact that its billionaire founder, Chris Rokos, makes all investment calls for the fund complicates titles. The manager declined to comment.At the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-bobby-jain-has-hired-jain-capital-hedge-fund-launch-2023-12">newly launched Jain Global</a>, there is a chairman of fundamental equities, Paul Enright, and a chief investment officer of fundamental equities, Townie Wells. Wells, a person familiar with the matter said, manages a portfolio on top of running the business, while Enright is more focused on mentorship and talent development.The chairman title is uncommon in hedge funds, especially for an individual business within a multistrategy manager, but the person close to Jain said it was what made the most sense for Enright, a former Viking Global portfolio manager who had been running his own money for years and decided to come back to the industry to work at the new fund.Firms can also tweak common industry titles internally.Millennium, for example, has ditched the sub-PM title, elevating those who once held that role to PM. These individuals, though, report to a senior PM, who can oversee several PMs within a pod.A person close to the firm said that as Millennium has grown, individual investing teams have become broader, necessitating more structure. All the teams at Millennium — there are more than 300 — are led by a senior PM, and it's not uncommon for PMs working under a senior PM to own part of the book and take risk themselves.In some cases, however, a PM's responsibilities can be more akin to those of a senior analyst or a sub-PM — but a PM title sounds better to external candidates."People will join because they want to be a PM," one recruiter said. "They know the power in that title."<h2 id="80e6436b-e9f6-4264-9dc3-db69994eef27">Keeping it under wraps</h2>Plenty of funds intentionally keep roles vague and closely monitor what their team members are publicly sharing about themselves.At Coatue, executives sign off on what employees put as their title on LinkedIn, people familiar with the firm's operations said. Members of Tiger Global's front-office team use "investor" as their title on LinkedIn instead of a more specific role.Quants like Marshall Wace, D.E. Shaw, and Two Sigma are famously guarded about their internal workings. At each firm, dozens of employees use catchall titles like "quantitative researcher" that can span experience levels.Both sides can be frustrating, especially for headhunters and business development pros at large firms trying to grow their teams.Oversharing or exaggerating titles can lead to inflated salaries and outside offers that aren't commensurate with a prospect's actual experience. Vague titles, on the other hand, can leave allocators struggling to understand what exactly their fees are paying for. Internally, employees who lack ownership of a specific sector or business find that their end-of-year bonuses are left to the whim of the founder.Fund executives and recruiters alike believe that the industry's institutionalization will eventually codify titles across firms. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-hedge-fund-job-point72-academy-applicants-2022-1">Talent-development programs at firms like Point72</a> and more structured <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-elliott-alums-are-launching-their-own-funds-2024-8">career-development paths at managers like Elliott</a> already feel more like private equity or banking than the Wild West hedge-fund days of yore.Don Steinbrugge, the CEO of the hedge-fund consultancy Agecroft Partners, said lofty-sounding roles without equivalent responsibilities — like a vice president of a bank — would have their match in hedge funds."Titles are something that's very important to people. It's something that impacts their reputation in the industry," Steinbrugge said."Over time, people will have titles that sound more important."

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