President Trump Operating as a Private Equity Fund

My friend Tom Brammar wrote a very savvy thing about viewing the administration through the lens of a private equity fund gaining control of an underperforming company (the USA, in this case) and saying all the right things to the existing shareholders (citizens) in order to implement an agenda favoring short-term wins over long-term costs.

To wit:

1. He will lead with a razor focus on maximising short-term gains to ensure there’s maximum uplift in “valuation” before flipping the country to the next owner. What does this mean? Well, if you look at his recent approach to environmental & financial regulation he’s identified that repealing these will give an immediate boost with any downside risks being delayed until well past his ownership.
2. He will look to replace expensive, capital intensive items with much cheaper substitutes that may look and operate the same. In some places this will be successful and a considerable amount of waste will be stripped out. But in others this will lead to an ultimate debasement of the brand.
3. Partnerships (trade, geo-political etc.) will be reordered such that those that focus on delivering immediate benefit to the valuation will be prioritised whilst those that may present a longer term opportunity will be neglected.

Click over to read the whole thing, it’s really clever and insightful.

Source:

Trump & Partners LLP acquires USA (plc) (Medium)