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🍋 Yale Backs Off PE

🍋 Yale Backs Off PE

Plus: Trump’s economic approval drops to a record low, gold hits a new high, Americans are moving money to Swiss accounts, and Ackman teases a Hertz-Uber partnership.

Short Squeez
April 21, 2025

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"Invert, always invert. Turn a situation or problem upside down." — Charlie Munger

Good Morning! Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. Regulators approved Capital One’s $35B acquisition of Discover, and Bill Ackman is hinting at a potential Hertz–Uber partnership.

Trump’s economic approval rating has dropped to the lowest of his presidency. Meanwhile, gold hit a new record (+25% YTD) as the dollar continued to weaken. And in a rough start to the year, 90 of the top 100 ETFs from 2024 are now in the red.

Plus: Hermès plans to pass higher tariff costs onto shoppers, more Americans are stashing money in Swiss bank accounts, and ChatGPT is racking up millions in costs from users politely saying “please” and “thank you.”

Smart home tech is booming—now’s your chance to invest in RYSE.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Yale Backs Off PE

Yale University became the poster child for the endowment model during the 1980s. The Ivy League university built a $40B+ empire and became one of the first to invest heavily in alternatives like private equity and venture capital, backing KKR and Sequoia before the firms went mainstream.

By the 1990s, Yale was over 50% invested in alternatives and delivered an average 13.7% annual return from 1985 to 2020. Known as the “Yale model,” many other large universities copied Yale’s strategy, investing billions in alternatives.

But the golden days of elite private equity returns and heavily weighting towards alternatives might be over. A new report found that Yale is getting ready to unload up to $6 billion of its private equity portfolio in the secondaries market. It comes at a time where there’s pressure thanks to the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts and threats to revoke tax-exempt status for elite universities.

Although endowments are currently shielded from income tax, potential future liabilities make illiquid holdings riskier, especially when liquidity is needed to meet capital obligations or fund operations.

This sale represents about 15% of Yale’s endowment’s total value. Yale is the 27th largest PE investor in the world, so it could spell trouble for the asset class.

Evercore is advising the sale, but it could be a tough time for Yale to sell, with tariff policies clouding valuations. The university may need to accept steep discounts to offload its holdings.

Takeaway: This isn’t just groundbreaking for universities like Yale, it could mark a major turning point for the private equity industry. Large endowments have long been among PE’s biggest clients, and many Yale alumni now manage capital at leading funds.

If more endowments move away from illiquids under regulatory pressure, it could tighten capital for PE and VC funds, making fundraising harder and force GPs to get more creative with exits.

HEADLINES

Tariffs Are Back. So Is Market Uncertainty.

With Trump signaling a return to steep tariffs on Chinese imports, the markets are bracing for more volatility. Public tech stocks are already reacting, and investors are scrambling for stability.

That’s why smart capital is flowing into private markets — and one company is turning heads.

This smart home disruptor is bringing affordable automation to window shades, backed by 10+ patents, an exclusive Amazon partnership, and $10M+ in revenue.

Now sold in 127 Best Buy locations and launching in Home Depot in 2025, this tech startup is following the same acquisition blueprint as Ring ($1.2B) and Nest ($3.2B) — and they’re just getting started.

With 200% YoY growth and support from investors like Daymond John, this is a rare chance to invest before their next phase of expansion.

Explore the opportunity before the next big move.

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Markets were closed for Good Friday.

Private Dealmaking

Chapter, a Medicare navigation company, raised $75 million
iCreditWorks, a point-of-sale lending startup, raised $60 million
Stitch, a payments infrastructure startup, raised $55 million
Crux, a financing software provider, raised $50 million
Toku, an accounts receivable SaaS, raised $48 million
Onfly, a B2B travel tech company, raised $40 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Real Estate Digest

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage expectedly ticked up for the first time in weeks as rates remained under 7% for the thirteenth consecutive week. YoY rates are 30 basis points lower today than at the same time last year while purchase demand is up 13% over the same time period, a clear indication that this years spring homebuying season is off to a stronger start..

BOOK OF THE DAY

Bad Law

In this New York Times bestseller, Elie Mystal offers a brilliant takedown of ten shocking pieces of legislation that continue to perpetuate hate, racial bias, injustice, and inequality today—an urgent yet hopeful read for our current political climate

In Bad Law, the New York Times bestselling author of Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution reimagines what our legal system, and society at large, could look like if we could move past legislation plagued by racism, misogyny, and corruption.

Through accessible yet detailed prose and trenchant wit, Mystal argues that these egregiously awful laws—his “Bill of Wrongs”—continue to cause systematic and individual harm and should be repealed completely.

“Mystal is a grassroots legal superhero, and his superpower is the ability to explain to the masses in clear language the all-too-human forces at play behind the making of our laws.”

DAILY VISUAL

US Makes Up Only 14% of Chinese Exports

PRESENTED BY MOSAIC

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Imagine a world where you can just forward your MD’s email to an analyst and they take care of everything.

Well, that future is here.

On Mosaic’s LBO platform, you can chat with the “AI Analyst” (just like ChatGPT) and ask it to update your MD’s comments. Simply tell it what to do, and within 10 seconds, it’ll update your LBO model.

Mosaic is making life easier for hundreds of analysts at firms like New Mountain, CVC, and Warburg.

See it in action today.

DAILY ACUMEN

Hard Work

People love tough challenges, like the 55-mile Comrades Marathon, where runners push for medals under tight time limits—some don’t even finish but still feel proud.

This “Effort Paradox” shows we value things more when they’re hard, like building an IKEA table over buying it preassembled.

Why? Hard work brings joy through contrast—struggle makes success sweeter—or by teaching us about ourselves and the world.

It also adds meaning: effort makes us feel purposeful, like kids choosing harder games for fun.

Studies show those who find effort meaningful are happier, earn more, and feel fulfilled.

Embrace challenges that stretch you just enough—not too easy, not too hard—to unlock deeper satisfaction.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

How to sound smart when talking to other people
3 ways to become more self aware
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How long does it take to see benefits from your new workout regimen?

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Memes of the Day

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