A discussion by Geoff Campbell and Aleksandra Corwin of Round Table Companies about why the stock market does not represent the true power of business includes insights from Satori Capital co-founder Sunny Vanderbeck.
Don’t Confuse Capitalism with Capital Markets
To many, the stock market is synonymous with the economy and, as a result, with capitalism.
But is it?
Increasingly, those within the Conscious Capitalism orbit say no.
“Stocks go up, and stocks go down — but none of that describes business. It describes the ways a business is financed,” said Sunny Vanderbeck, managing partner of Satori Capital, a conscious finance firm. “Public stock markets often result in a non-value creating Kabuki dance, which has nothing to do with capitalism.”
Capital markets are all the sources of equity and debt in the aggregate — they are the way businesses obtain long-term financing. But they don’t say anything about what makes a business successful or how it creates value.