“So what’s next? I think the information revolution will continue its course. Just as it is now possible to quickly do a wholesale accounting and review of a massive international corporation, it is also possible — or at least soon will be possible — for investors to keep close tabs on private corporations, even without the benefits of the openness and the economies of scale that come with public trading.

I thus foresee over the next few years growth in mid-size and large private corporations where the investors have extensive access to the records in real-time; perhaps not the same level as in a small private company, but far more than investors and public companies now have. We’ve already started to see that trend with the recent explosion of private equity groups like Blackstone.”

See the link to my website for more.

I still think, though, that it will be hard to stop the exodus to private equity, where investors generally have more control and information, and more accessible channels for getting both.