Bain Capital’s Big Untold Story Buried in Gawker Documents

Who would think that investment audit reports could be so interesting?  Reports that should be available to any investor in the various Bain Capital investment funds, including the Romney's of course.  Most remarkable perhaps is that no one has seen the really big story of these otherwise mundane reports. Here is that story, an epic … Continue reading Bain Capital’s Big Untold Story Buried in Gawker Documents

Corporate Governance: While Intel Excels JP Morgan Struggles

One of the sacred tenets of good corporate governance is separating the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.   This provides a critical oversight function with respect to the activities of the CEO.  Exhibit one supporting this concept is perhaps JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon's role in the current multi billion … Continue reading Corporate Governance: While Intel Excels JP Morgan Struggles

Why Harry Reid Checkmates Mitt Romney

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

The Oregonian Reports on Valuation Concerns Regarding PERS Private Equity Investments

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

The Wall Street Journal Confirms Parish & Company Analysis of Bain Capital Profit Sharing Plan and Romney IRA

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

Mitt Romney’s Tax Return – An Inside View

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.

Bain Capital Profit Sharing Plan Likely Reveals How Romney Built IRA

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