The Loan Committee™

Like companies in other industries, banks are racing to take advantage of the opportunities and manage the risks that the digital economy creates. To do so, they will need computing platforms that provide greater agility at lower cost. As global head of Goldman Sachs’s technology division, Don Duet has led the development and execution of the firm’s private-cloud strategy, as well as its thinking about opportunities in the public cloud. “None of this marks a sudden or abrupt shift in strategy for the firm. It’s always been about making continual progress,” he says. In this edited interview conducted by McKinsey’s James Kaplan at Goldman Sachs’s headquarters in New York, Duet discusses the firm’s use of a private-cloud infrastructure—the challenges and risks it faced in conceiving of and launching the platform almost a decade ago and the benefits the firm is realizing through this technology.  Authors:  James Kaplan and Ishaan Seth.  Source:  McKinsey & Company.  Learn more…

There are plenty of pundits who offer advice on how to “invest like the pros”. However, investors who are looking to enhance the performance of their investment portfolios probably won’t find a better investment model than the one used by the $37.6 billion endowment for Harvard University.  The methodology behind HMC’s success is the application of what is known as Modern Portfolio Theory. Modern Portfolio Theory is a theory of finance that seeks to maximize portfolio returns by carefully allocating capital across multiple asset classes. Among those asset classes, Modern Portfolio Theory calls for 10% to 20% of a well-diversified portfolio to be allocated into hard real estate assets. Historical results show that strategy to be effective in posting above-market returns in both good and poor market conditions.  Author:  Ian Formigle.  Source:  CrowdStreet.  Learn more…

Some lines in the federal tax code are so widely used and understood that they have become part of our common speech. Other lines of the tax code, however, remain widely unknown or underutilized, even by those who could benefit from this knowledge the most. The elusive “1031 exchange” is such a provision, with massive potential for real estate professionals but little general knowledge among even the most experienced real estate investors. learn more…  Source: Real Estate 4 Investing

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter may be old hat for some early-stage startups in Florida if House Bill 275 is approved by state lawmakers.  House Bill 275 would legalize equity crowdfunding — a financial process that allows companies to accept funds from investors in exchange for company stock. The kicker is that potential investors don’t have to be overly wealthy, which opens the pool for more investment capital.  Author:  Matthew Richardson.  Source:  Orlando Business Journal.  Learn more…

The company that owns and runs the largest mall in America wants to build an even bigger one in northwestern Miami-Dade, a roughly 200-acre entertainment complex with submarines, a Legoland, sea lions and an artificial ski slope.

Backed by the owner of Minnesota’s Mall of America, American Dream Miami is proposed for land at the intersection of Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 75 near Miami Lakes. It’s projected to cost as much as $4 billion to build and employ 25,000 people once opened, more than enough to give it Miami-Dade’s largest private-sector payroll.  Author: Douglas Hanks.  Source: The Miami Herald.  Learn more…