⚖️ Bill Ackman scales back

Bill Ackman reduces the target for his IPO, US inflation is set to the right speed, and an animal versus human Olympic challenge | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH     Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for July 27th in 3:09 minutes.   🏃‍♂️ In this case, you'll want to jump the gun. Be one of the first 1,000 to get an early-bird ticket to our [Modern Investor Summit](, and you'll be in the running to win an Echo Dot speaker. [Grab your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Finfluencer Bill Ackman slashed the target size for his brand-new fund - The market’s zombies and fallen angels, and what to do about them – [Read Now]( - The latest look at inflation hinted that the US could achieve an Olympics-worthy soft landing Ack, Man [Ack, Man] What’s going on here? Just a couple of weeks ago, Bill Ackman was [aiming]( to raise $25 billion with the initial public offering of his US investment fund Pershing Square USA – but now he’s shortened that target by a mile. What does this mean? The hedge fund manager says he’s now looking to gather just $2.5 billion to $4 billion – a far more reasonable ballpark. Shares of investment vehicles like this one usually trade at a discount compared to the assets they hold. But the billionaire “finfluencer” had hoped his new US fund might trade above its fair value instead, catapulted by demand from the legions of retail investors who follow him on social media. Why should I care? Zooming in: Boring is better. It’s not easy to raise money, but Pershing’s downshift likely isn’t instilling confidence in any would-be investors. And it’s not just retail investors who are snubbing the firm’s latest offering: big institutional investors like pension firms prefer to invest in diversified asset funds that are managed by a team. The ones run by Millennium, Citadel, and Blackstone, for example, have more people and more strategies, so they’re covered if someone leaves or something goes wrong. Meanwhile, Pershing is more of a one-man band, which means a lot of risk rests with Ackman. For you personally: Cheap tricks. Many ETFs give you exposure to the US big-fish stocks that this investment is targeting, but at much lower prices. Sure, Ackman’s waving the firm’s 2% fee for the first year, but that seems like the least he could do: an S&P 500 tracker ETF costs a fraction of that, with fees typically below 0.1%. Pershing’s latest vehicle would have to outperform the index for a long time to make up that difference. So it’s no wonder active funds, like Ackman’s, are losing out to cheaper passive ones. You might also like: [Bill Ackman: How to invest like the famous contrarian](. Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Ack, Man&utm_campaign=daily-global-27-07-2024&utm_source=email) Analyst Take How To Survive A Zombie And Fallen Angel Apocalypse [How To Survive A Zombie And Fallen Angel Apocalypse]( You can never be sure how you might fare in a zombie [apocalypse]( – let alone one accompanied by a crowd of fallen angels. Low interest rates following the 2008-09 global financial crisis and the pandemic crisis dawned an entire army of so-called [zombie]( companies – those that survive mainly because of cheap borrowing. Today’s higher interest rates are creating a tough time for them and for [fallen angels]( – those highly rated companies that have been suddenly downgraded to junk status. But there could be an [opportunity]( in that. That’s today’s Insight: [what to do about zombies and fallen angels](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( Your free guide to investing with AI Artificial intelligence is slowly but surely becoming ingrained into our lives. Condensing articles, checking out medical symptoms, writing tricky break-up texts: we’ve all been flocking to chatbots without a second thought, for better or for worse. So it’s no surprise that [AI investing tools]( have taken off in a big way. After all, they can tap into the insights of every resource imaginable to create [tailor-made suggestions and solutions](. The only problem: AI can go rogue, and it doesn’t always understand the nuances of human thinking and communication. (Yet.) So before you use the super-smart tech to sharpen up your strategy, [read this free guide to find out how to invest with AI the right way](. [Check Out The Guide]( Cool Blue [Cool Blue] What’s going on here? The Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) trusted price gauge [pointed]( to cooler blue levels, rather than red-hot, clearing the way to an interest rate cut. What does this mean? It was a bit of relief after a rocky few days in the market. The core index – which ignores volatile food and energy prices to get a better view of underlying cost pressures – increased just 2.6% in June from a year ago, not far from the Fed’s 2% target. The news wasn’t altogether new – but it did confirm a trend seen across other indicators. And that’s just what investors wanted: a little assurance that there won’t be a nasty surprise around the corner that might keep the Fed from lowering rates this year. Why should I care? For markets: Big little stocks. The mega-sized Magnificent Seven have been the stars of the stock market show all year, driving the vast majority of its gains. But lately, the not-so-magnificent players have been stealing a bit of spotlight. See, small-cap companies are more vulnerable than their heftier peers when it comes to inflation, economic growth, and interest rates. That’s because they’ve got slimmer profit margins, a more domestic customer base, and a lot more short-term or variable-rate debt. And now with all three of those big factors seeming to turn in their favor, the outlook for the stocks that were mostly left out of the recent rally might be a lot brighter. The bigger picture: Goldilocks scenarios. It’s not just the lower inflation that’s putting a smile on investors’ faces: data earlier this week showed that the US economy grew at a stronger-than-expected pace in the second quarter. And that suggests the Fed might pull off a spectacularly rare feat: bringing down inflation without crashing the economy. Mind you, it’s a bit early to start popping open the bubbly – but you could put it on ice. You might also like: [The US economy is being pulled in two directions right now](. Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Cool Blue&utm_campaign=daily-global-27-07-2024&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "I was wise enough to never grow up while fooling most people into believing I had." – Margaret Mead (an American anthropologist) [Tweet this]( Take a seat on the summit’s main stage Thousands of retail investors tuned into our [Modern Investor Summit]( sessions last year. Eager to discover the smartest tools and savviest tricks, they piled into fireside sessions, Q&A panels, and keynote speaker slots with the likes of Jamie Dimon. Now’s your chance to secure a spot at the next one. Our [Summit]( is slated for December this year, and we’re on the lookout for speakers with big ideas and serious know-how. 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