market folly

Institutional Investor just released an excerpt from an interview with Maverick Capital's Lee Ainslie from the Delivering Alpha Conference.  In it, Ainslie touches on the M&A boom, cybersecurity, and the low volatility index readings (VIX).

Ainslie says that there could be a bigger level of mergers and acquisitions than in 2007 thanks to large corporate cash balances and the fear that interest rates will increase or the tax inversion loophole will close. 

He also likes to look for secular trends from the top down and then identify specific companies that will benefit from those trends.  One of the biggest trends he's seeing now is network security / cybersecurity, though he doesn't mention any specific names.

Lastly, Ainslie points out that the VIX has seen spikes on a more frequent basis as the years go by.  He argues that the there's a contrast between the threats in the world and the low levels the VIX has been sitting at, which he thinks is not being priced appropriately. 

Embedded below is Institutional Investor's interview with Lee Ainslie:



You can view some of Maverick Capital's portfolio activity here.