In the world of chess being too aggressive at the outset, advancing too far, is perilous. For Romney, his refusal to acknowledge his aggressive financial engineering and tax avoidance strategies could indeed result in an open convention. One in which the party is free to forward a higher quality candidate. Here is a list of … Continue reading Why Harry Reid Checkmates Mitt Romney
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With all the stories on Romney's finances, many of which resulted from my observations regarding his tax returns and investment accounts, in particular his IRA, and the interaction of the trusts, foundation and Bain Company filings, the most important story is still untold. Here it is, the story that could likely open the Republican convention … Continue reading Romneys Biggest Tax Story Still Untold – Could Result in Open Republican Convention
In a front page story Sunday May 20, 2012, Ted Sickinger of the Oregonian provided a detailed review of private equity valuation concerns. This portfolio of opaque investments has grown substantially and poses unique risks to Oregonian PERS participants. In his article, Sickinger notes this analysis is based upon original Parish & Company research. Although … Continue reading The Oregonian Reports on Valuation Concerns Regarding PERS Private Equity Investments
Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and senior editor Mark Maremont of the WSJ wrote the following two stories, explaining how Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney built his IRA to as much as $100 million. Both stories were based upon original Parish & Company analysis. The purpose of this analysis is not to directly disparage Romney but rather … Continue reading The Wall Street Journal Confirms Parish & Company Analysis of Bain Capital Profit Sharing Plan and Romney IRA
Note: Analysis of Bain Capital Profit Sharing Plan in Separate Post A leading reporter recently asked me to take a look at Mitt Romney's 502 page tax return. What resulted was a fascinating journey that will hopefully initiate a common sense dialogue on needed tax reforms. Newt Gingrich's return was also analyzed, yet revealed no substantive tax policy issues. To be clear, I am a strong critic of large private equity and hedge fund "buyout" firms. To me they are clearly no more than sophisticated tax deduction pyramid schemes. Others might argue they are the very definition of crony capitalism and via "club deals" are creating abusive monopolies that are destroying open markets. That said, it is also true that these large private equity firms pay very close attention to my work and jokingly refer to me as Sherlock's Sherlock when it comes to financial analysis. So here we go.
Note: Mitt Romney Tax Return Analyzed in Separate Post As an investment advisor I have found reviewing a company's pension plan to be a good indicator of the sponsoring company's quality of management. These pension plans are all available for viewing at http://www.free5500.com via required annual 5500 ERISA filings. The filings show not only show … Continue reading Bain Capital Profit Sharing Plan Likely Reveals How Romney Built IRA
The following letter was sent to SEC Chair Mary Schapiro and IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman on "tax day" with the hope they will jointly work at restoring the integrity of cash flow statements, without question the most important analytical tool for investment advisors like myself. It is simply astonishing, given their material nature, that listed … Continue reading Letter to SEC Chair and IRS Commissioner – Tax Deduction Pyramid Scheme
Prior to the fractions rule, investors were investing $1 in order to get $5 to $7 in tax deductions. President Reagan was so incensed that he signed into law new legislation, the "fractions rule," specifically designed to end this scheme. During this period no firm was more abusive with respect to tax avoidance than General … Continue reading Blackstone’s Tax Engineers, Inspired by General Electric, Attempt to Repeal The Fractions Rule
These four technology companies have all achieved great success. My personal favorites from a product standpoint are Apple, Intel and Google. For investors, however, "shares outstanding" do indeed matter. Given that neither Apple nor Google have ever paid a dividend, coupled with their near tax exempt income status due to massive stock option deductions, the … Continue reading Why Shares Outstanding Matter: Apple, Intel, Google and Microsoft
On October 15th, 2010 Oregon State regulators approved the $4.5 billion merger of First Technology Credit Union with Addison Avenue credit union, the biggest such merger in credit union history. In my opinion, this results from a complete breakdown in the integrity of the credit union regulatory process. For this reason I have written … Continue reading First Technology “Inside Job” Merger Approved Without Adequate Review