Stock markets are very high risk though. Not on the same level as VCs, but buying an index fund is imo within one order of magnitude of funding 200 startups in terms of risk. If you can get 8% a year on your $100billion, I think anyone takes it.
Its that giant "conservative" investors can't get 4% in bonds, so they move into blue chip stocks. Blue chip stockholders have to run into smaller mid-caps and semi-mature startups. Series B funding has to move to VCs, all to get the same level of yield.
> That wealth isn't overall that desperate for a return
On the conservative end, pension funds etc functionally need to chase some amount of return or else they start to become insolvent. You can't hold at 0% forever, there's no point in being a pension fund at that point. Right now its not desperate for a return, because its trying to stay alive. But when they were making bets on WeWork its because they were looking for a massive return.
Its that giant "conservative" investors can't get 4% in bonds, so they move into blue chip stocks. Blue chip stockholders have to run into smaller mid-caps and semi-mature startups. Series B funding has to move to VCs, all to get the same level of yield.
> That wealth isn't overall that desperate for a return
On the conservative end, pension funds etc functionally need to chase some amount of return or else they start to become insolvent. You can't hold at 0% forever, there's no point in being a pension fund at that point. Right now its not desperate for a return, because its trying to stay alive. But when they were making bets on WeWork its because they were looking for a massive return.