Archive for 2012
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Taxing times in French asset management
February 20, 2012Capital Finance (part the Les Echos Groupe) features an article today on the discombobulations affecting the country’s tax-incentivized fund structures: FCPIs and FIPs. I’ve written in the past on the perverse effects that these taxpayer-funded structures can have on the venture capital sector. And for full disclosure, a significant percentage of Truffle’s funds under management [...]
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Bogle on carried interest
February 17, 2012John Bogle is one of my idols of the financial world. He is best known for revolutionizing the mutual fund industry by demonstrating the superiority of index funds over traditional actively-managed mutual funds over the long term. In the mid-70’s, Bogle established The Vanguard Group and subsequently created the Vanguard 500 Index Fund as the [...]
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France’s Chopra moment
February 13, 2012It has been interesting to follow the recent transatlantic flap triggered by Ilan Abehassera’s interview in Betabeat. Abehassera denigrated the French entrepreneurial scene in a piece that oozed of auto-pr; Liam Boogar of Rude Baguette called b.s. In reality, I suspect both individuals were viewing the same market but through the lenses of different eras. [...]
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Sticking to your knitting
January 25, 2012Our portfolio company NetMediaEurope didn’t always see things this clearly. In the throes of the post-Lehman media recession, which witnessed plummeting banner ad revenues for B2B media websites globally, NME seriously considered extending its tentacles into the B2C content sector. The idea seemed attractive to the board at the time. With its pan-European footprint of [...]
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SOPA faltering, but this is only round 1
January 20, 2012Wednesday’s blackout by several websites in protest of SOPA undoubtedly pushed the pending SOPA legislation against the ropes. As the NY Times reported, this was a case of grassroots new media beating the old guard. On January 17, only 31 members of the U.S. House of Representatives opposed the legislation, with 80 in support. The [...]
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Going dark tomorrow in protest of SOPA
January 17, 2012This blog is admittedly a small fry, but principles matter. And based on principle and in a show of solidarity with popular websites like Reddit, Minecraft, Craigslist, Wikipedia, and A VC, this blog will join them in going lights out tomorrow in protest of the SOPA legislation currently pending in congress. For more rationale, see: [...]
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NME acquires CBS Interactive Germany
January 9, 2012Today our portfolio company NetMediaEurope announced the acquisition of CBS Interactive’s German subsidiary. I am convinced that this transaction is a win/win arrangement for both buyer and seller. The divestment allows CBSI to focus on its core markets of North America and Asia. For NME, it enables the company to shore up its previously modest [...]