Finally some clear thinking on stock buybacks by @jasonzweigwsj. The amount of nonsense surrounding buybacks is crazy, so it's nice to see an accurate take. Here's my thoughts on buybacks & capital allocation from my equity management days...

wsj.com/articles/stock… A company buying its own stock is like buying any asset...a machine, a piece of land, an index fund, a factory, IP, etc.

A recent FT piece defends private equity’s approach to valuations. As an LP in over 100+ funds, my experience completely agrees with @CliffordAsness when he calls it volatility laundering. Here's what I've been seeing in relation to the author's claims:

ft.com/content/22a81f… One note: the quality and behavior of GP's vary considerably and some are very transparent and consistent in their approach. But this issue of #volatilitylaundering is pervasive enough that investors need to go in with skepticism.