zlacker

>>gwintr+(OP)
Personally, I want capital markets that are dynamic enough that some fraction of $n00 billion businesses become $(n-k)00 billion businesses (check out the aggregate market cap today of GE’s progeny).

I’m not even sure there’s a counterfactual world where GE is a $m trillion business: The global economy has largely evolved beyond these massive, diverse conglomerates, and likely all to the good.

What does a “wow, GE really has been managed wonderfully since 1980” story even look like? I imagine they split up much earlier, each spinoff establishes their own brand, and there’s no “GE” to talk about.

>>twoodf+Vf
A well-run conglomerate from an investor's perspective is more like a broad mutual fund than a single hot stock.

It's not likely to pop 800% tomorrow, but it's more likely to produce reliable long-term value because it's pre-diversified.

For some reason, the Asian kerietsu/chaebol conglomerates seem to be able to handle it well. Nobody would deny Hyundai or Sony being hugely successful as conglomerates.