Before I entered the entertainment world, I received an MBA from the University of Chicago in Finance at the top of the class. I then worked for about 18 years for Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and what was then known as Chemical Bank ( now part of JP Morgan Chase).
My responsibilities over that time span included investment banking, strategic planning, internal consulting and ultimately Chief of Staff to the President of Chemical Bank. Chemical was going through a merger with Manufacturers Hanover Bank and most of my time was spent managing the merger integration.
One of the primary lessons taught at the University of Chicago was the value of diversification. Most people think that means having a mix of equities versus bonds or having both domestic and international positions.
I think of diversification more broadly than that. I believe that investments in real estate, art, commodities, and THEATER can play a valuable role in your portfolio.
Broadway in particular deserves a certain percentage of your overall investments. It is not closely correlated with many of the other markets. So it will not necessarily decline in a bad stock market.
In fact, studies have shown that Broadway holds up well even in recessions. People simply need to be entertained and maybe even more so when they are having rough times. Getting out to see a show can be rewarding and fulfilling and a great distraction.
As a result , as an investor, Broadway can hold up in bad times and do very well in good times, especially if one has the careful selection criteria from a proven producer. Across 20 years, 61% of the shows where I am a producer or investor have made money. Many of those show have made over 100% profit as shown in the website.
Even though I started my career in the banking world, music was always very important to me. I studied classical piano for 15 years and sang in three classical music groups in college. I believe that trusting a producer who has both a creative background and business expertise makes sense—in my opinion they make the best producers, as I have noticed of course in some of my colleagues also who span both.
In those 20 years, we have seen major ups and downs in the stock market and at times overwhelming crises across the world. Broadway is still here through wars and health crises and other turmoil and it always will be.
Broadway is one of the crown jewels of not only New York City, but also our country. Your motivation in theater investments may be to be a part of beautiful and transforming productions. But contrary to popular belief, it can also be profitable at the same time.
