Alan Quasha Report

In an article in Forbes.com, Alan Quasha, founder, president and CEO of Quadrant Management, shares his thoughts on the “Magic in Mistakes.” He explains how mistakes can actually help people in the business world, and why people should appreciate this chance to learn lessons.

As Alan Quasha explains,

“We first must acknowledge what should be obvious: Mistakes happen. And, in fact, contrary to popular perception, that’s a good thing. As the great UCLA baseball coach John Wooden once said, the team that makes the most mistakes wins.

Mistakes only become a problem when very smart people or institutions lack the humility to acknowledge the likelihood of mistakes; fail to adequately plan or measure downside risk; or dismiss information that challenges a decision in favor of data that reinforces initial beliefs.”

The new Senate Bill will have an impact on those involved in private funds, as well as companies such as Vanterra Capital (a global private equity firm), where Alan Quasha is a Partner.  It will have an effect on “the registration of private fund advisers and restrictions on the relationship and activities of banking organizations with private equity and hedge funds.”  As well, the Bill includes laws on “specific executive compensation and corporate governance practices at U.S. public companies generally and, accordingly, would affect a subset of the portfolio companies of private equity, venture capital and other private funds.”

When it comes to making an investment, “risk and time are the two variables” to be weighed ahead of time.  Of course, everyone will make a different decision vis-à-vis how much bonds and cash they will choose to add to their stock portfolio, but the rule is the same for everyone:  they need to “factor [in] time and risk tolerance to the amount of money [they] put into stocks.”