America's Road to Wealth

"Oh, I see. That's very good. Remember to have a good rest and take care of yourself."

"Yes. I'm at the company and will go back to accompany you in the evening."

"Okay, that's it. Goodbye~"

"."

Smith Building, Queens, New York.

The first floor of the building was once again opened as a temporary conference hall.

In total, there are about one hundred and fifty Smith Capital LPs, that is, investors.

Was invited here today.

Because today is the end of the closed period for Smith Capital Phase 2 and Phase 3 private equity funds.

In other words, after dividing the money once in February this year.

This month, Smith Capital will distribute money to investors again.

If you have the first time, you will have experience the second time.

It will be much smoother and no longer so green.

The process of the second money-sharing meeting was the same as last time.

It was Melio, a former deputy manager and now one of the presidents, who first took the stage to talk about the most common clichés on Wall Street.

After the routine was over, David took the stage and announced the gains from the private placement.

The difference is that this time, Abel didn't even bother to go on stage.

As the chairman of the company, he sat in the audience and looked at everyone indifferently.

Smith Capital’s Phase II and III private equity funds.

The returns of these two funds did not disappoint investors.

Smith Second Fund Company currently has a balance of US$8.756 billion.

Smith Third Fund Company’s current account balance is US$8.695 billion.

Same with Smith First Fund, which has ended.

The profits of these two funds exceeded more than 5 billion US dollars.

Smith Capital’s first, second, and third private equity funds three times in a row.

A total of US$16.695 billion in profits were earned for investors.

It also earned Abel, the fund manager, about US$8.347 billion in dividend commissions.

Of this amount, US$834.7 million will be taken by Smith Capital as the company’s profits.

In other words, from last August until now.

Abel is in Smith Capital’s third phase of private equity funding.

The bonus commission fees extracted amounted to US$7.513 billion.

This is a terrifying number. The total income of all fund managers on Wall Street this year may not be this amount.

But the investors were very much in favor of him taking this number.

Because no one can do what Abel did, nearly doubling their investment in just half a year.

If converted into annualized rate of return, it is about 85% a year.

Except for the stock market and extremely risky speculative investments.

No investment manager in the market can do this.

Not even Buffett or Soros.

Investors who have received their principal and profits are eager for Smith Capital to start private equity again.

Of course, it must be the kind where Abel is the fund manager.

Otherwise, they would have little interest in ordinary private placements like the fourth, fifth, and sixth phases.

For those funds, they will buy more or less because of Smith Capital's reputation and Abel's brand name.

But if you want them to invest large sums of money, it is absolutely impossible.

Who said those few private equity funds had good returns?

But this kind of good performance is only compared with ordinary private equity funds.

These three funds are completely different from those of Abel's fund manager.

More than 150 investors at the scene all requested Smith Capital to open a new private equity fund.

The fund manager of this private equity fund must be Abel, and everyone is no longer satisfied with the US$3 billion fundraising limit.

They want more.

However, Smith Capital and Abel did not reply on the spot, and the money-sharing meeting ended after the money was distributed.

Not long after, actually the next day.

A piece of news from Wall Street began to spread slowly among the American media and the Internet.

A person familiar with the matter said that Smith Capital's financial product "Smith Seventh Fund Company" will be established in the near future.

The amount raised this time will be US$50 billion.

Ordinary Americans didn't react much to this.

Whether it is US$100 million or US$50 billion, it is too far away from ordinary Americans.

Not to mention a private placement that requires at least US$1 million to be subscribed at a time?

How can the average American afford it?

Ordinary Americans still prefer to buy stocks that have just been launched by Smith Capital.

Internet virtual currency funds currently sold on the Internet - "American Family Financial Management".

This is one of Smith Capital’s latest financial products, and the entry barrier is incredibly low.

As long as you have 1 dollar, you can buy this product that has been referred to as "American Treasure" by everyone.

Many people have discovered that buying it and redeeming it are very simple.

All you need to do is open an account at American Pacific Commercial Bank.

Then you can buy and redeem quickly between your bank and Smith Capital accounts without any fees.

The key is that there are no handling fees. You can think of it as another deposit mode.

The interest rate is higher than depositing it in the bank.

Ordinary people are more concerned about this.

So of course what rich people care about is not "American treasures".

What they are more concerned about is Smith's seventh fund.

Fund investment is a mature investment method all over the world. After years of development, it has long been a mature investment method.

With the advent of the new century, the scale of U.S. funds has grown rapidly, and equity funds have seen significant inflows.

As of the end of 2001, the total net assets under management of regulated funds in the United States was US$28.1 trillion, an increase of 13% from US$24 trillion at the end of 2000.

At the same time, net fund subscriptions reached a record high of nearly $1.27 trillion.

In addition, the total number of fund companies in the United States has remained stable, but the degree of leadership has deepened.

In 2001, the total number of fund companies in the United States was 16,000. In recent years, the number of fund companies in the United States has been relatively stable.

Fund companies are mainly independent fund consultants and manage 72% of the assets of investment companies.

Over the past decade, the concentration of U.S. fund companies has increased significantly.

Among them, CR5 increased from 15% at the end of 1995 to 25% at the end of 2001, but the market share of central fund companies has declined.

To put it simply, the top funds are more popular than ever.

Based on these data, at a quick glance, Smith Capital’s seventh private placement of US$50 billion does not seem to be a lot.

As everyone knows, it is already very scary for a single private equity fund to reach this scale.

It’s very simple. Just look at a set of data and you’ll understand what a $50 billion private placement is.

Currently, the world’s largest private equity firm is Blackstone Group.

Note that it is Blackstone Group, not Black Rock Group.

BlackRock is a subsidiary of BlackRock, a subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group.

PNC Financial Services Group is currently a shareholder of Smith Capital.

Blackstone Group is mainly private equity.

PNC's Black Rock Group is a mutual fund, which is mainly public offering.

As the world's largest private equity firm, Blackstone Group manages only about US$86.5 billion in funds at this time.

The second place is Europe's EQT (EQT Group).

EQT is a Swedish company. It is currently Europe's largest private equity firm, with more than 80 billion euros in assets under management.

EQT is also a listed company on the Stockholm Exchange in Sweden.

EQT Group's parent company, Einruida, is the largest industrial holding company in the Nordic region, and its subsidiaries include many Fortune 500 companies such as ABB, Ericsson and Electrolux.

The third place is the American "Kohlberg Kravis Roberts" group.

This name is too long, and the industry generally calls it KKR Group, the third largest private equity firm in the world and the second largest in the United States.

Controls more than $70 billion in funds.

Did you see anything?

If Smith Capital’s US$50 billion private placement can be fully raised successfully.

Then it will immediately become one of the top ten private equity companies in the world.

Because in the private equity field, a single private equity fund of more than US$3 billion is already a large private equity fund.

In the global private equity field, there are more small private equity funds with a scale of hundreds of millions of dollars, which specialize in a certain investment field.

Raising $50 billion at a time. Still private placement, even on Wall Street, this is the first time ever.

After the news came out, Wall Street giants didn't believe it at first.

Because if this fundraising is successful, it will be the largest single private equity fund in financial history.

EQT Group, Blackstone Group, KKR Group.

Those are all managing dozens or hundreds of private equity funds, and the custody funds are so large.

Smith Capital is good, and I want to eat all at once.

I wanted to become more than half of the Blackstone Group at once.

To be honest, even Wall Street, which is already a little afraid of Abel, is not optimistic that he can succeed.

120 Broadway, 4 World Financial Center Tower, Manhattan, New York City.

Floor 34.

This is the headquarters of Merrill Lynch, one of the five largest investment banks on Wall Street.

Merrill Lynch CEO David Komansky is in talks with Charlie Scharf, who has been hired back as special financial adviser instead of CFO.

Charlie Scharf on the last USD/JPY event.

As the unlucky scapegoat, he became the scapegoat together with O'Neal, a black man who was one of the original presidents.

O'Neal, who was black, stepped down after that. Afterwards, he was sued by Merrill Lynch, and the trial was about to begin in a month.

With the power of Merrill Lynch, even if O'Neal is a black man, he will inevitably go to jail.

As for how long he has to sit, it depends on the mood of David Komansky, now the CEO of Merrill Lynch.

Judging from the extent to which O'Neal ignored David Komansky at the time.

It is estimated that Stanley O'Neill will not have a chance to come out if he does not stay in prison for ten or eight years.

In contrast, Charlie Scharf was an unlucky guy. He was O'Neal's confidant at the time.

Although he advised O'Neal at that time, the black president did not listen.

After that big loss, Merrill Lynch was held accountable.

O'Neill stepped down and was then indicted. Charlie Scharf was fired to deal with angry investors.

But senior personnel, including David Komanski, knew that Charlie Scharf was innocent.

Everyone knows that Charlie Scharf is a very capable financial elite.

If it hadn't been for Charlie, Merrill Lynch's losses would have been even worse.

Plus David Komansky wanted to return to power and needed some confidants.

So two months after firing Charlie Scharf, he was hired by Merrill Lynch.

It’s just that Charlie can’t continue to serve as chief financial officer as he did before.

Charlie Scharf is now Mr. CEO’s special financial advisor.

It was David Komanski who wanted to cultivate henchmen to be bribed because he had the ability.

“A private placement of $50 billion in a single private placement.”

In the CEO's office.

David Komansky looked at Charlie Scharf across from him, "Charlie, what do you think?"

This thing is too outrageous.

Even Charlie Scharf has always been among the Wall Streeters who admire Abel the most.

At this moment, Charlie Scharf also couldn’t believe it:

"Fifty billion US dollars? Is that too exaggerated? Even if divided by ten, raising US$5 billion at once is not an easy task."

David Komansky nodded and said, "Richard and I also discussed this matter at the financial reception yesterday. Richard also believed that Smith could not complete it."

"But what if he finishes?" Charlie Scharf couldn't help but ask.

"Then we have to be careful from now on." David Komanski said with a wry smile:

"Smith holds $50 billion, plus his own funds and other public funds. Wall Street will no longer be safe."

"Yeah," said Charlie Scharf.

"Also." Charlie Scharf whispered again: "Mr. Komansky. If it is true, will Merrill Lynch subscribe?"

"Why not?" David Komansky said directly: "As long as it is guaranteed, of course we will invest."

Charlie Scharf thought to himself, you are very contradictory.

One side does not believe that Abel Smith can reach the fundraising quota.

While saying that if it was true, Merrill Lynch would invest.

what is this?

Is it okay to be both optimistic and not optimistic at the same time?

Charlie Scharf was so quiet at this time that he decided not to comment.

"Charlie." David Komansky did not let him go. "You know Abel Smith. You know David Mellon better."

"How about you go to Smith Capital. Go to David Mellon and confirm whether this private placement is real or fake? Please."

Charlie Scharf smiled bitterly, knowing that he couldn't refuse at all.

Unless he doesn't want to work at Merrill Lynch or continue to work in the financial field.

Because it is obvious that David Komansky brought himself, a confidant of former President O'Neal, back to the company as a special adviser.

The most important thing is that I was most likely the main person responsible for negotiating with Smith Capital at Merrill Lynch before this.

I also have a good relationship with David Mellon.

Others at Merrill Lynch have little to do with it, so if you let them do it themselves, the effect will be better.

This is my biggest role for Merrill Lynch so far.

It is also the most important reason why David Komansky will bring himself back.

Thinking of this, Charlie Scharf could only sigh in his heart and smiled on the surface:

"Of course it's no problem. Mr. CEO, I will complete the task."

Seeing how sensible he was, David Komansky patted his shoulder and said, "Charlie. Looking forward, I'll leave this matter to you."

Charlie Scharf had no choice but to agree and went to Smith Capital in the afternoon.

Not surprisingly, Charlie Scharf met many Wall Street acquaintances in the parking lot of the Smith Building.

For example, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and other companies all send people here.

They are all high-level.

There are also executives from other Wall Street firms.

Charlie Scharf saw these people, and these people saw him.

Without saying it directly, everyone knew each other’s true purpose of coming to Smith Capital.

Soon people gathered together and chatted quietly.

The person who chatted with Charlie Scharf was Lord Blankfein, head of fixed income commodities at Goldman Sachs.

"Charlie, it's great to have you back at Merrill Lynch."

Head of fixed income commodities at Goldman Sachs, says hello to Charlie Scharf.

What happened at Merrill Lynch was no secret on Wall Street.

Everyone knows what happened to Charlie Scharf and his abilities.

If Charlie Scharf had not signed a non-compete agreement, he would have been able to work for Merrill Lynch for ten years.

By the time Charlie Scharf was fired, he had already been absorbed by other Wall Street firms.

It's just that the fines for violating non-compete agreements are too heavy, and those Wall Street companies are unwilling to bear them.

Charlie Scharf had been unemployed at home for only two months before he was brought back by Merrill Lynch.

Charlie Scharf smiled bitterly and said: "Lalder, this is not the place to talk about this. To be honest, I came here to know about Smith Capital's private equity."

"Who isn't?" said Lloyd Blankfein: "Paulson asked me to come here because he wanted to know this."

Charlie Scharf looked around and said softly:

"Then everyone's purpose seems to be the same. Look, so many people are actually here for the 50 billion."

The former CFO of Merrill Lynch estimates that these Wall Street companies are the same as David Komansky.

Everyone does not believe that Smith Capital can complete a $50 billion private placement.

But at the same time, every company is afraid that if it is true, they will not get any meat.

Those CEOs and chairman who are the bosses are too embarrassed to come.

So we sent these middle and high-level personnel who had contact with Smith Capital.

Thinking about it carefully, Charlie wanted to laugh a little.

"What to do now?" Lloyd Blankfein asked Charlie.

This is actually the first time for Lloyd Blankfein to come to the headquarters of Smith Capital.

The reason why he was sent here was that Paulson wanted to train Lloyd Blankfein.

Lord Blankfein is one of Paulson's favorite candidates to succeed him.

Secondly, David Mellon, the current CEO of Smith Capital, once worked under Lord Blankfein.

The relationship between the two is not bad, so Lao De came to want to gain some favors.

It's a bit similar to the reason why David Komanski sent Charlie.

Charlie Scharf looked around and saw that there were already more than twenty Wall Street executives similar to himself and Lloyd Blankfein.

Charlie simply said: "Why don't we make an appointment and let's go meet David Mellon together?"

Lloyd Blankfein agreed.

The two men separated and connected with other Wall Street executives.

It took more than ten minutes.

More than thirty executives from different Wall Street companies reached unity in front of Smith Capital's building.

That is, everyone gets together and asks David Mellon together.

Confirm the specific news of this private placement of Smith Capital.

It was just when they gathered and walked into the Smith Capital building.

With sharp eyes, Charlie Schar saw that a large number of people, accompanied by David Mellon, were walking outside talking and laughing.

Charlie Scharf's heart suddenly skipped a beat, because next to David Mellon, he saw Munger of Berkshire Hathaway; Lincoln of PNC Financial Services Group; Bader of Citibank; and Fidelity. Peter of the company; Veron of Wells Fargo.

Immediately afterwards, Charlie Scharf and other Wall Street executives who had not yet had a chance to enter.

Heard David Mellon's announcement at the door.

That is the seventh private placement of Smith Capital. The unprecedented 50 billion single private placement fund is real.

This private equity fund has not yet been announced to the public and has not started formal fundraising.

But it has already been subscribed for $32.5 billion.

Only $17.5 billion remains.

As soon as the news was announced, the entire audience was in an uproar.